In the film Cancer Warrior we learned about how scientists are working to find cures for cancer. Some common methods for treating cancer are surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy,which uses deadly poisons to kill cancers cells. Several decades ago a new field of research was discovered that has significantly changed the methods and studies for cancer treatments. This field is called Angeogenisis. Angeogenisis is when tumors send out proteins causing blood vessels to grow towards the cancer cells, causing them to grow.Certain chemicals can be used to block the blood vessel growth and therefore the cancer growths stop growing and die. Since cancer cells use all of the cells around them from the blood vessels to grow, cutting them off from the supply can help eliminate the tumors growth. Though this field and ideas were at first frowned upon and thought to be ridiculous, but today it is one of the leading studies for preventing cancer. From these studies many drugs have been produced including Angeostatin and Endostatin. While these drugs help many people, it does not work for everyone and are different for many patients. Other studies have been able to link Angeogenisis to sudden tumor growth after a large tumor is removed. The main tumors send out chemicals that stop other cancer cells from growing, but when they are removed, so is the chemical, so consequently removing a tumor could possibly make your cancer even worse. While we are a long way from creating a cure for cancer, thanks to new studies and discoveries we are closer than ever before.
Experimental drugs can be both good and bad for people and society. An experimental drug is one that has not been thoroughly and is not yet approved for everybody. Volunteers can agree to be in experimental trials, but only if they are given permission from the Food and Drug Administration. Experimental medicines have both their advantages and disadvantages. For example, if a field of medical research shows great promise and it is allowed to be tested on humans than that means it might be able to save even more lives and help scientists modify or improve the medicines. On the other hand, drugs should be tested extensively to prevent death and ensure the product is not harmful or have any dangerous side effects. Taking experimental drugs are extremely risky and it takes a long time to determine which drugs have produced the best results and are therefore ready to become available to all patients being treated with cancer. First, the new medicines are tested and studied by scientists and computers. Secondly, they are tested extensively on animals, and finally, they can be tested on humans. New medicines are extremely important in our society, they keep us healthy, cure disease. Without them a lot more people would die and become ill. Overall, when a new drug is created it needs to go through a lot of testing before it becomes available to the public.
There are many positive and negative aspects of releasing new medicines early. If a new drug were released early it would mean that the people who need it can get it sooner. Also, it would save both time and money if the drug were released before the testing was complete. Less money would be spent on the testing and that money could be used to experiment on other medicines. In addition, if the drugs were released earlier, that means scientists could start working on new medicines to try to find cures to other diseases. On the other hand, if a medicine has not been properly tested than it could turn out to be more harmful than helpful. Also, there might be side effects that the testing did not show that could seriously effect the patient. If the drug turned out to be ineffective than it could cost many people their lives. In addition, if this product were mass produced and was recalled by the FDA, it would lose tons of money for the company and its investors. For example, the drug NV1FGF was designed to improve blood vessel growth in hopes that it would decrease the number of limb amputation, however it turned out to only be as effective as a placebo. Since it was released to the public before properly tested, it lost the company a lot of money and the drug did not work properly.
Taking these drugs is extremely risky. If the medicine does not work, than the patients could die, or waste time trying this procedure instead of trying one that actually works. Overall, releasing a new medicine before its testing is complete is a daring move that could either be very beneficial or very harmful.
In my opinion, medicines should be thoroughly tested before they are available to the public. This ensures that the drug is safe and effective in curing the disease. While releasing the medicines early does have some benefits, I think the risk outweighs the gain. The possibility of unforeseen problems with the medicine could end up causing serious problems for the patients that could effect them for the rest of their lives. I think drugs should only be released if they show excellent results and the need for them is desperate. All in all, I think medicines should be released after they have gone through all of the testing.
Right now, many different companies are trying to find a cure for cancer, which kills many people every year. Many drugs are being tested in hopes of curing it. There are several factors that can help cause cancer to grow, and by avoiding them, your chance of getting cancer decreases a lot. First of all, smoking causes many diseases, one of which is lung cancer. Also, by protecting yourself from the sun and eating health foods like fruits and vegetables can decrease the chance that you will get cancer. Exercise also is a factor that can effect your probability that you will get cancer. Your heredity also can effect the chance that you will get cancer so it is important to know your family's medical background. In conclusion, by living a healthier lifestyle you can decrease the chance that you will get cancer.
http://cancer.about.com/od/causes/tp/topreventcancer.htm
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-09-22/sanofi-says-experimental-drug-failed-in-late-tests.html
