By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    How Not to Become a Victim of Medical Scams
    How Not to Become a Victim of Medical Scams
    December 22, 2021
    11 Ways You Can Care for Your Elder Family Members Health
    11 Ways You Can Care for Your Elder Family Members Health
    April 6, 2022
    How Can Brain Injury Lead To Dangerous Long-Term Effects?
    How Can Brain Injury Lead To Dangerous Long-Term Effects?
    August 30, 2022
    Latest News
    The 6 Most Common Injuries Resulting from Motorcycle Accidents
    January 30, 2023
    6 Essential Strategies for Improving Your Medical Practice
    January 25, 2023
    Staying Positive While Living with Mesothelioma
    January 24, 2023
    The Many Health Benefits of Being Outdoors
    January 17, 2023
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    health benefits on Marijuana
    California Advocates Cite Health Benefits of Cannabis Legalization
    February 5, 2021
    Is It Right To Opt For A Home Care Service For Elderly Loved Ones?
    April 17, 2020
    Addressing Mental Health Problems in America’s Schools
    July 10, 2018
    Latest News
    Simplifying the Genetic Testing Process: How At-Home Kits are Changing the Game
    January 25, 2023
    9 Hospitals That Have Introduced Green Initiatives
    January 25, 2023
    Why a Health Retreat Can Be the Best Medicine
    January 12, 2023
    Best Money-Saving Tips for Health Managers
    January 12, 2023
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Not One War on Cancer, Millions
Share
Sign In
Notification Show More
Latest News
investing in senior care
5 Reasons Why Investing in Senior Care Is a Wise Choice?
Senior Care
prevent birth injuries
Distressing Birth Injuries and How They Can Be Prevented
Women Health
reduce infertility risks
Lifestyle Choices You Can Make to Minimize Infertility
Pregnancy
stablecoins in healthcare
Stablecoins May Change the Future of Healthcare Billing
News
Personal Injury Healing Tips and Strategies
Personal Injury Healing Tips and Strategies
Health
Aa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Aa
Search
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Global Healthcare > Not One War on Cancer, Millions
Global HealthcarePublic Health

Not One War on Cancer, Millions

Andrew Schorr
Last updated: 2011/08/10 at 11:22 AM
Andrew Schorr
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE

You have heard it countless times, “The War on Cancer.” President Nixon announced it. The National Cancer Institute has spearheaded what TV and radio commercials always talk about as “the fight against cancer.” Singular. But we really need to start thinking about it as a plural.  Wars on cancer. Fights against cancer. Taking it one step further, we need to see each person’s fight as an individual battle.

You have heard it countless times, “The War on Cancer.” President Nixon announced it. The National Cancer Institute has spearheaded what TV and radio commercials always talk about as “the fight against cancer.” Singular. But we really need to start thinking about it as a plural.  Wars on cancer. Fights against cancer. Taking it one step further, we need to see each person’s fight as an individual battle.  Not just individualized to the patient’s spirit or age or sense of hope, but individualized to his or her particular biology, matched up with the specific cancer and available treatments. That is the nature of “personalized medicine” applied to cancer. We’ve been talking about it for a few years around here, but what’s exciting now is that even more super smart people in the cancer scientific community are devoting themselves to it.

I met two people like that today near the research labs at the University of Washington in Seattle. Without giving too much away (they’ve got big plans), these two hematologist-oncologists, with many advanced degrees between them and decades of experience, are trying to build something really big that could lengthen lives and save many too.

What they’re trying to do is to take the knowledge in the labs doing research about all the different types of cancer and put that knowledge at the fingertips of every doctor, even those in the most remote clinics. They are trying to prevent anyone from getting one-size-fits-all cancer therapy and, instead, get patients the best individualized therapy available. Fueling this will be a partnership between patients, clinics and researchers, to collect tissue and blood samples, analyze them, and put the results into huge online databases. The technology is there to do this and to perfect cancer care in the process. But we patients and our community doctors will need to understand our role and get on board.

More Read

technology innovation in healthcare

5 Ways New Technology is Revolutionizing Health

Are your Health Workers Properly Protected?
Maximizing Outcomes Through Effective Patient Engagement Strategies
Dr. James Murtagh Tackles Pulmonary and Other Diseases
How to Get Prescriptions Online Reliably and Cost-Effectively

Ron Levy, MD; Chief, Oncology; Stanford Medicine

I know what’s envisioned may not be clear yet. Suffice it to say, if all this is successful, a future patient diagnosed with a type of cancer will have some very specific tests and a detailed picture of them will dictate a very specific treatment, more specific than what we do now.

There are some shining examples of how this is already helping – new medicines for subtypes of melanoma and lung cancer. Certainly it’s true for individualized approaches in leukemias. Not too long ago, Dr. Ron Levy, head of oncology at Stanford, explained this to me.

I am excited about the effort beginning here in Seattle and you can expect audio and video programs to document its progress. I have a feeling this is how we will beat the myriad of cancer subtypes, by doing what’s right for each of us, one by one, but with the power of supercomputing behind it to make it fast and efficient…and lifesaving.

I welcome your comments.

Wishing you and your family the best of health,

Andrew

TAGGED: cancer, global health, public health

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Be keep up! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Andrew Schorr August 10, 2011
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Copy Link Print
Share
Previous Article More On Why There Are Drug Shortages
Next Article Community Health Centers: Not Just a “Safety Net”

Stay Connected

1.5k Followers Like
4.5k Followers Follow
2.8k Followers Pin
136k Subscribers Subscribe

Latest News

investing in senior care
5 Reasons Why Investing in Senior Care Is a Wise Choice?
Senior Care January 30, 2023
prevent birth injuries
Distressing Birth Injuries and How They Can Be Prevented
Women Health January 30, 2023
reduce infertility risks
Lifestyle Choices You Can Make to Minimize Infertility
Pregnancy January 30, 2023
stablecoins in healthcare
Stablecoins May Change the Future of Healthcare Billing
News January 30, 2023

You Might also Like

at-home genetic testing method kits
Global Healthcare

Simplifying the Genetic Testing Process: How At-Home Kits are Changing the Game

January 25, 2023
benefits of going on a health retreat
Global HealthcareHealth

Why a Health Retreat Can Be the Best Medicine

January 12, 2023
saving money in healthcare
BusinessGlobal HealthcareHospital Administration

Best Money-Saving Tips for Health Managers

January 12, 2023
HR staff must deal with divisive views in healthcare
BusinessGlobal HealthcareHospital AdministrationPolicy & Law

HR Must Navigate Polarizing Views in Healthcare Workplaces

January 4, 2023
//

We influence million of users and is the most authentic source of information on healthcare business and technology news.

Quick Links

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Subscribe

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

Follow US

© 2008-2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?