The reason why cancer cannot be cured is that treatment is the key

If you have cancer, you will feel desperate. Many people die from cancer every minute. Why is cancer so difficult to cure? The most important thing is related to treatment. Untimely treatment and inappropriate treatment methods are the fundamental reasons why cancer cannot be cured.

1. Why are some cancers still incurable?

There are two main factors: one is the timing of treatment. Many patients discover their cancer too late. If it can be detected early, many cancers can be treated very effectively. Nowadays, there are detection methods for various types of cancer at an early stage. As long as everyone insists on regular physical examinations, they will be able to "intercept" cancer in its early stages. The second is the treatment plan. Finding a truly experienced doctor and developing the right treatment plan is the key to the success of treatment. In recent years, the concept of cancer treatment has been updated very quickly, with new results every year. If a doctor does not understand the new research progress and still uses the concepts from five or ten years ago to treat cancer, it will also delay precious treatment opportunities and even result in incorrect treatment. Moreover, a lot of scientific research results will be wasted and these results will not be transformed into therapeutic effects.

2. Humans are not helpless in the face of cancer

Cancer is a very common disease. Like diabetes and hypertension, it is a chronic disease and a lifestyle disease.

Cancer is a very special disease. When patients learn that they have cancer, they are usually extremely frightened, as if death is about to come. Earlier, we made a detailed analysis of chemotherapy and targeted therapy in internal medicine. We believe that patients should be able to build up confidence in fighting cancer. We already have so much detailed knowledge about cancer, have divided it into so many types, have synthesized so many drugs, and have such a deep understanding of the properties and indications of drugs. Do we still need to be so afraid of cancer?

Talking about the new "results" of 50 years of fighting cancer is to make patients believe that humans are not helpless in the face of cancer. Now, the survival period of various cancers is being extended, and the cure rate is also improving. The cure rate of certain types of breast cancer and colorectal cancer can reach 60%~70%. However, the scientific community still has a long way to go before it can finally solve the problem of cancer.

3. How to understand the concept of “cure”?

Experienced clinicians recognize that the peak period of recurrence is 1 to 2 years after cancer surgery; after three years, the recurrence rate and metastasis rate drop significantly; after five years, the recurrence rate and metastasis rate drop further. Therefore, we can consider patients who survive for more than five years after treatment to be "clinically cured."

However, there are obviously many patients whose cancer relapses. Can such patients be considered cured? Cancer is different from other infectious diseases. Infectious diseases can be considered cured as long as the viruses and bacteria are eliminated. As long as humans develop drugs to kill the virus or bacteria, they can declare that they have conquered the disease; as long as they understand the transmission patterns of the virus or bacteria, they can take effective preventive measures, and can be said to have controlled the disease.