But that's a slightly different thrust, or perhaps I didn't parse your original statement with your intended meaning. Many people are genetically predisposed to developing cancers based on the content of their genome. This is distinct from being infected by a virus and later developing a cancer. Then there are cancers you can give yourself by abusing your body with tobacco, or other substances. Hence, there are multiple routes of activation, and with all routes it's a DNA damage numbers game since predisposition, infection and substance abuse are not automatic cancers and there are many examples of people never developing a cancer yet having one to many risk factors.
A family friend died recently of cancer that was quite similar to Steve Jobs. His brother has the same cancer and is still in the fight. It's one thing to see the online photos, trying to hug a dying man wasted into a stick of his former self from suffering the effects of the cancer and the "treatment" poisons leads me to feel current therapies are not worth the effort unless the cancer is correctly detected early, and there is a decent chance of survival. And therein lies the other main challenge in work: correctly identifying a cancer and not needlessly subjecting people to chemotherapy, radiation, and in the case of breast cancer, lopping off body parts. Imaging and other detection technologies are getting better, but it's a slow process, and until diagnostics are significantly better it is certainly a worry in the US with a for profit healthcare system that makes a lot of money in these poison therapies. Leigh to suggest that all cancers come from inherited defects. On 28 Aug 2011 at 08:44 AM, Jochen Fromm related > Yes, but only because a virus is made of pure genetic > material, it is made either from DNA or RNA. Certain > retroviruses (RNA viruses) can cause cancer because > they change the DNA of the host cell. They have the > same effect as random mutations or radiation: they > change the DNA and the genetic material of the cell > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retrovirus > > This insight was rewarded with the Nobel Prize in 1989. > The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1989 was > awarded jointly to J. Michael Bishop and Harold E. Varmus > "for their discovery of the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes" > http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1989/ > > This was 20 years ago, more research is under way > There is hope that we can find better treatments and more > efficient cures, although it is certainly difficult to find > out new therapies. > http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1162 > > Marcos is right, the crude current therapies such as radiation > or extremely toxic chemicals are not the best way to cure > the disease. One of the problems is that the industry (especially > car-, oil- and chemical industry) produces stuff like benzene, > dioxin or hexavalent chromium (VI) compounds which pollute > the environment and cause cancer. But instead of producing > less toxic substances or cars without emissions, the chemical > and pharmaceutical industries produce even more toxic drugs > which treat the symptoms in form of very toxic and very > expensive cancer drugs (many cancer drugs used for > chemotherapy are cytotoxins), see > http://blog.cas-group.net/2010/10/where-markets-fail/ > > And yet these cancer drugs are the best thing we have > today. But there is hope, more research is going on, for > example in Stanford's new, $200-million stem cell building. > I think we can and we will find a real cure. As said before, > in all things it is better to hope than to despair, isn't it? > > -J. > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Leigh Fanning" <[email protected]> > To: "The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group" <[email protected]> > Sent: Sunday, August 28, 2011 5:35 AM > Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Cancer Research, was Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO > > >>> Cancer is a genetic disease. There is a huge amount >> >> Not always, some cancers develop after infection by viruses. >> >> Leigh >> >> ============================================================ >> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv >> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College >> lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org >> > > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
