In 1971, Richard Nixon declared a "war on cancer" and sought federal funding for additional research aimed at improving survival rates and lifespan post-diagnosis. From the National Cancer Institute timeline,
In 1970, the American people made clear their desire for a cure for the second-leading cause of death in the United States. President Nixon responded during his January 1971 State of the Union address: "I will also ask for an appropriation of an extra $100 million to launch an intensive campaign to find a cure for cancer, and I will ask later for whatever additional funds can effectively be used. The time has come in America when the same kind of concentrated effort that split the atom and took man to the moon should be turned toward conquering this dread disease. Let us make a total national commitment to achieve this goal."
A videotaped interview available at that same site quotes Vincent DeVita, M.D., director of NCI from 1980–1988, as saying
the War on Cancer “…did everything it was supposed to do. It supported basic research handsomely. It set up application programs—the EORTC [European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer] and U.S. clinical trials programs. The incidence of cancer in this country started dropping in 1990 and has continued to drop every year since, and so has mortality. And the morbidity from cancer, comparing 1971 to 2005, is like night and day….So, every benchmark of the mandate has been hit.”
Since we have an aging population for most demographic groups in the U.S., and since many of us who post here are no longer young ourselves, it may seem that cancer is rampant from our personal experiences. This anecdotal evidence contradicts the statistical data--or so it would appear in the overall picture.
And yet, the stats for the cancer that I have, endometrial cancer, show a slight uptick both in cases and in mortalities from it in recent years. [sorry, link forthcoming later] It's surmised that the drop in formerly routine hysterectomies for women of a certain age may account for part of that increase; it's also possible that there are more cases of endometrial cancer resulting from environmental contaminants such as synthetic estrogens (from plastic) and from other hormonal stimulants. Even a drug routinely prescribed for treatment of breast cancer, Tamoxifen, carries a slightly increased risk to women of endometrial cancer over their lifetime.
What's your experience? Anecdotes are OK, but stats are good too. Have there been advances in "cure" rates and longevity with the type of cancer you're most familiar with? Or are treatments stagnating?
There are, of course, many other important factors influencing survival rates for people with cancer. Affording care--both the medical costs and the lost work time, plus the non-reimbursed costs of being sick--makes a huge difference, and that is unfortunately evident by the differences in survival for Americans of different races. [I'll confidently say of different classes, too, though I don't know good links to cite on that score.] Generally, no surprise here, white patients live longer post-diagnosis than black patients (at least in gynecological cancers; link later). Black patients tend to be diagnosed later with more advanced cancers, even now, over 40 years on in the "war on cancer."
My own opinion is that we could certainly use a more effective war on cancer, regardless of the nomenclature used. Far too many people are not able to access good-quality care to start, let alone have the wherewithal to get what they need by way of time and extra nurturance to heal. In this era of enforced austerity, it may seem unlikely for us to make much progress. But if we don't agitate, who will?
Monday Night Cancer Club is a Daily Kos group focused on dealing with cancer, primarily for cancer survivors and caregivers, though clinicians, researchers, and others with a special interest are also welcome. Volunteer diarists post Monday evenings between 7:30-8:30 PM ET on topics related to living with cancer, which is very broadly defined to include physical, spiritual, emotional and cognitive aspects. Mindful of the controversies endemic to cancer prevention and treatment, we ask that both diarists and commenters keep an open mind regarding strategies for surviving cancer, whether based in traditional, Eastern, Western, allopathic or other medical practices. This is a club no one wants to join, in truth, and compassion will help us make it through the challenge together.