Interesting... I have been around for a few years and have watched battle with Cancer and the search for a cure. Billions, trillions? have been spent on research and yet treatment hasn’t changed much in 20/30 years — the two options: chemo and radiation.
Early detection seems to be what has improved longevity but some even now argue that, for example, mammograms are not beneficial.
Where has all of the money gone!
This is absolutely false. Radiation and and platinum-based chemotherapies are still used as a first-line treatment of some cancers, that is true. But there is a HUGE shift into targeted treatments: monoclonal antibodies, oral medicines that attack cancer cell pathways, and immuno-oncology drugs are changing the way oncologists treat patients.
I myself, am a benefactor of the targeted therapy cetuximab, also known as Erbitux. The side effect profile is minimal, and very tolerable. I am over three years cancer-free (HNSCC), and the treatment was considered curative, not palliative.