Hey there!
Welcome to Life Noggin.
A lot of people have requested that I do a video on cancer, and i know it's a pretty
heavy subject, but I think we can learn a lot.
Just reading up about it, I found that in the United States this year, an estimated
1.7 million people will be diagnosed with cancer and an estimated 600,000 people will
die of cancer?
There will also be $5 billion spent funding the National Cancer Institute, which is the
United States’ main agency for cancer research and training.
With all that money being used in research, are we close to finding a cure?
It turns out that there are some newer treatments that seem promising, and we’ll talk about
those in a minute, but first, what is cancer exactly?
It’s important to note that cancer is not just one disease -- it’s a term we use that
refers to a collection of over 100 diseases, including breast cancer, which is one of the
most common cancers in women in the United States, and retinoblastoma, a rare eye cancer
that usually affects children 5 years or younger.
Cancers start off when cells go bad, accumulating specific genetic mutations, dividing out of
control, and evading death.
In most cancers, this can result in lumps, or tumors, that invade nearby tissue.
Most symptoms vary depending on cancer type.
For instance, skin cancer is often associated with abnormal growths on the surface of the
skin, including bumps, discoloration, lesions, or changes to existing moles.
While indications for lung cancer include a persistent cough, shortness of breath, and
chest pain, among others.
And each type of cancer may require a different treatment or cure.
To help fight it, you can use things like high doses of radiation, chemotherapy drugs,
and targeted therapy.
But even with these methods, cancer cells can still find ways to hide or build a resistance
to treatment.
Here’s where the newer treatments and research comes in.
Earlier this year, a study performed on mice found two new ways that could overcome resistance
to a certain targeted therapy drug.
The resistance seems to be caused by an increase in insulin, a hormone that regulates blood
sugar.
The researchers found that when giving the drug in conjunction with either a high-fat,
ketogenic diet or with a common drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, they saw greater
tumor shrinkage than with just the targeted therapy drug alone.
There’s also a newer treatment method called immunotherapy, which helps the immune system
fight cancer cells.
A recent study tested the effects of the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab, also known as Keytruda,
on patients with a common type of lung cancer.
This drug works by blocking a specific protein interaction that lets cancer cells instruct
immune cells to ignore them.
Used in combination with chemotherapy, researchers found that patients were 51 percent less likely
to die compared to chemo patients receiving a placebo.
Advancements like these in cancer treatment has helped patients live longer lives.
From 1991 to 2015, the rate of cancer related deaths dropped by a total of 26 percent, translating
to over 2.3 million lives saved.
So, while progress may be slow, we are definitely moving in the right direction.
If you have any stories, or experiences related to this subject, and you feel comfortable
with sharing, let us know more in the comment section below!
Be supportive.
Be kind, and check out some links in the description for more resources.
Curious to know how schizophrenia affects the mind?
Check out this video!
Schizophrenia is described as a severe and chronic mental disorder that can affect different
parts of a person's life, such as how they think, feel, and make decisions.
As always, my name is Blocko, this has been Life Noggin, don't forget to keep on thinking!