Fwiw, more research into any kind of treatment for breast cancer besides “slash and burn and poison” will continue to lead to improving treatments for other cancers, to the benefit of children and men as well.
Here’s a pretty good summary of how we got from “unspeakable and incurable,” past “initial biopsy and radical mastectomy in one operation,” to a place where breast cancer research is finally well-funded :
The fact that breast cancer is so common led women to get organized and raise private funds as well as demanding government funding. We’re the majority population group after all, and 1 in 10 of us will get breast cancer.
A lot of more rare cancers don’t have the numbers of passionate people behind them to fund the necessary research. It’s not fair but cancer ain’t fair.
Another thing about breast cancer, it’s easier to screen for routinely than, say, pancreatic cancer, so it’s now often caught early enough for treatment to succeed. And it’s easier to access that first tumor without having to dodge vital organs.
A patient who lives long enough to undergo radiation, chemo, and immunotherapy provides valuable information to researchers.
Fwiw, more research into any kind of treatment for breast cancer besides “slash and burn and poison” will continue to lead to improving treatments for other cancers, to the benefit of children and men as well.
Here’s a pretty good summary of how we got from “unspeakable and incurable,” past “initial biopsy and radical mastectomy in one operation,” to a place where breast cancer research is finally well-funded :
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3298674/
Sure, researching better treatments for breast cancer can lead to better treatments for other cancers, but then that’s also true for the inverse.
The fact that breast cancer is so common led women to get organized and raise private funds as well as demanding government funding. We’re the majority population group after all, and 1 in 10 of us will get breast cancer.
A lot of more rare cancers don’t have the numbers of passionate people behind them to fund the necessary research. It’s not fair but cancer ain’t fair.
Another thing about breast cancer, it’s easier to screen for routinely than, say, pancreatic cancer, so it’s now often caught early enough for treatment to succeed. And it’s easier to access that first tumor without having to dodge vital organs.
A patient who lives long enough to undergo radiation, chemo, and immunotherapy provides valuable information to researchers.