June 16, 2008

Cancer research - something that works.
posted by polychrome 15 years ago
  • My Congressman-writing finger is getting itchy...
  • Quite right too. If some fucker had come to me and suggested an 'alternative' treatment I'd have killed 'em dead. Give me science any day of the week. On a vaguely related not, and no offense intended, someone came round the hozzy and asked me if I wanted to see the chaplain. I said I had no need as the nice scientists and medical staff were already saving me. She looked a bit put out, so I pressed my advantage by extolling the benefits of atheism. She missed my bed out next time she came round. I was bored, OK?
  • Yesterday I saw that snake oil salesman on TV...I can't remember his name, the infomercial guy who went to jail for fraud a few years back. This time he's selling ALL NATURAL CURES that the government and the pharmaceutical industry DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT because they're intent on KEEPING YOU DOWN. Claimed they could cure cancer, emphysema, MS, you name it. Fun Father's Day entertainment.
  • Not to be a killjoy, but in my experience, there's quite a bit of money in Cancer already. It's the allocation of those resources that's the problem. On the one hand, I see plenty of funraising events (and I think the Breast Cancer people are good at this, particularly in the corporate environment) that can hardly be all that remunerative -- so much money has to go back into overhead, and running the events themselves. On the other, there's money to pay for coffee and newspapers and fresh flowers and art on the walls for the loved ones who have to wait around for their guy to have whatever done. It's all nice, all welcome, but perhaps it's not the priority. I agree that the focus should be on research, but from what I've seen, there's plenty of money available for Cancer already. It's the divying up of that money that needs to be addressed. IMHO. And I don't factor in this equation, since I've already given my share to Cancer, and have no intention of giving any more.
  • Research is great. We need to keep learning and developing. Even more important, we need to make sure that the cutting edge technology is available to all--not just the rich. Think your HMO gives a damn if you get the best care? Hardly. Then imagine having no insurance at all.