Cancer Support

they are making great strides, but still have a long ways to go. Imagine if some of the money we used on "defense" was channeled to more research. That being said the NIH is available for numerous studies, we almost went there for treatment, but decided to stay locally for several reasons.

This is from part two, insurance paid part of this and she had connections, but in the end the treatment did not last. Still they are paving the way for others and you just never know what the outcome might be.



A New Treatment’s Tantalizing Promise Brings Heartbreaking Ups and Downs
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/09/health/new-frontiers-of-cancer-treatment-bring-breathtaking-swings.html

"Scientists had compared the entire genetic sequences of the tumor cells invading her body with those in her healthy cells, searching for mutated tumor genes that could be thwarted by drugs approved for other cancers or even other diseases. That had led them to give her an expensive drug approved just a month earlier for melanoma patients. It had never been given to anyone with a blood cell cancer like hers. In theory, the drug should have killed her. Instead, it seemed to have halted or even reversed her cancer.

But would it last? And what would it mean if it did not?

In the end, Mrs. McDaniel’s journey to the edge of genetics research turned out to be a decidedly mixed experience. It was hard — much harder than anyone in her family had imagined — to get the sequencing and analysis done. It was breathtaking to see the results, which indicated that her cancer was driven by a strange gene aberration that could be attacked with a new drug. But it was heartbreaking to see how quickly her cancer recovered from the assault, roaring back in a matter of weeks.

Mrs. McDaniel’s story offers a sobering look at the challenges for this kind of quest for a treatment, even for someone like her, who had both the means and the connections to get the intricate geography of her cancer charted. Her husband, Roger McDaniel, was a former chief executive of two companies involved in semiconductor manufacturing, and the family could afford the approximately $49,000 that the search would cost. They had expected to pay much more, but to their astonishment, Mrs. McDaniel’s insurance company covered almost all the drug costs. And the scientists who did the data analysis did not charge..."

FWIW - Part 3
A Life-Death Predictor Adds to a Cancer’s Strain
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/10/health/genetic-test-changes-game-in-cancer-prognosis.html