Have any illnesses actually been 'cured' by new drugs in the last 20 years?

Question

It seems to me that everyday there is a new drug which comes out hailed as having great potential yet when you check around there seem to be few diseases which have been cured by any drugs. The headache is still around. High cholesterol still exists. People still have heart attacks. Cancer is as bad as ever. People still lose their hair as they get older. Gout and arthritis are still around. Epilepsy is still here. Alzheimers etc etc.

I'll go even further than drugs. look into treatments in general. Teeth whitening doesn't work that well. Skin creams haven't helped the people I know. Smokers still have a hard time quitting. Fat people try everything to lose but they have yet to find a solution as far as I know.

And thousands of billions of dollars have been poured into solving all these problems. In the end the consumers would have been better off spending their money on something better.

Any thoughts on this reality?

Answer 1

I can only speak about chemotherapy. It literally saved my sons life. Two years ago he presented with tumors the size of volley balls growing uninhibited within the abdominal cavity. He had been playing high school basketball and found he could not keep up with his team mates. He ended up in the hospital when we could not determine what was wrong. His tumors had spred and grown rapidly in 30 days time. He had stage IV metastatic abdominal sarcoma. It had spred through the lymphatic system to the chest wall, diaphragm, spleen, large and small intestine, liver, with spots on the lungs. He had just turned 17 years old. His cancer was extremely rare and predominately strikes boys and young adults. His doctors offered treatment but could guarantee nothing. He also had presented with malignant ascites which had implanted hundreds of small and microscopic cancer cells into the peritoneum lining. Pretty grim news for all of us.

We felt that we needed to take a chance to save this young life. So, he started high dose chemotherapy . . Vincristine, Cytoxan, Doxirubicin, Etoposide, and Ifosomide. The ascistes had caused his belly to swell and he gained 40 pounds of fluid. The tumors, you see, were weeping. My son had not eaten more than two bites in a month . . but as the chemotherapy began to take effect we saw an immediate relief of symptoms. The tumors started to shrink dramatically.
The cancer in the lympth nodes, chest wall, and lungs all dissappeared. The volley ball size tumor shrunk to a grape fruit size. Within in three months he became eligible for surgery. He took a diuretic that eliminated the abdominal fluid. Surgery removed 75% of the tumors. He had a second surgery that removed all evidence of disease, but since he also had peritoneal seeding we included a new treatment called intra-peritoneal hyperthermic chemoperfusion. The surgeon used heated Mytomycin C for a 90 minute bath. And, it worked. His following PET and CT scans showed no evidence of peritoneal tumors for 10 months.

My son has had excellent quality of life, he graduated from high school, takes college classes, hangs with friends, and just got back from a trip to the West coast. He still has a small amount of cancer left on his liver about the size of a pencil eraser. Not bad considering how much cancer he originally had . . . new drugs do work. They do save lives and they continue to save life. I know hundreds of patients with cancer who are doing well because of them and, yes, they are survivors (you might check out cyclist Lance Armstrong who was cured of stage IV testicular cancer 10 years ago). You generalize too much. You are wrong.

Answer 2

It is for certain that doctors and the pharmaceutical industry are in cahoots, why would they want to cure you when they can make more money if the medication only temporarily solves the problem. There are numerous new drugs out there that generally pray off the ignorant middle aged and elderly society. Many people have been prescribed drugs they do not need, but these people are unwilling to do any personal research for their own benefit. High cholesterol, blood pressure, heart attacks, even some types of cancer... many of these problems can already be prevented and cured through proper diet/exercise.

Do most people know that green tea helps prevent cancer, heart disease, cavities, increases your immune system and can even raise your metabolism? Probably not, most fail to do the research, and the doctor will make more money if you are paying for expensive prescription pills for the rest of your life.

Answer 3

Polio is a least one. The average life expectancy has increased dramatically over the last 100 years, mostly due to medical science. If you don't believe it go to an old cemetery where the people buried there lived during the 1800's. You will notice that those who made it to age 70 - 80 were the exception. Today it is the rule.

Answer 4

certain cancers are more curable. 20 years ago life expectancy for kids with cystic fibrosis was about 3 years old and now they can expect to live to 30. pneumonia is curable. strep throat is curable.

medications can't cure everything but sometimes it can slow down the disease. aids patients are now living longer.

sickness is like death, its inevitable. everyone gets sick sometimes. whether its cancer or the common cold.