Op-ed:
The Business of Cancer...Political and
Otherwise
By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor /
Right Side Patriots / Right Side Patriots Radio
The article posted here is this authors opinion alone, and does not
necessarily represent the views of blogspot.com
or Google.
Cancer...the
“Big C”...is
probably the most dreaded and feared word any of us ever want to
hear. Cancer, once again brought to the forefront of both the medical
and public discourse after both King Charles and Princess Kate were
diagnosed as having cancer, thus joining the ranks of the millions
whose lives are forever changed by cancer...the very disease we had
hoped would have been cured by now after the officially declared
“War on Cancer” was begun.
A war
we are still fighting with no seeming end in sight as we find
ourselves 54 years into former President Richard M. Nixon's
having signed into law on December 23, 1971, the “National
Cancer Act,” and with it his hope that cancer would be
“conquered” within five years time, but obviously it was
not nor has it been to date. And while cancer research and treatment
options have increased the survival rate of those afflicted with
cancer, so too has the budget of the “National Cancer Institute
(NCI)” increased over the
years. And yet it's sad to say that it seems we are no closer to a
true“cure” than
when Nixon was in office.
Why
so...because the word
“cancer” itself actually encompasses over 200 diseases making it highly unlikely that
what I call a “silver bullet”
will ever be found to cure all cancers in one fell swoop, that is
unless we can find a way to actually “turn off”
what is the true common denominator in all cancers...as in the “switch,”
that takes healthy cells
and mutates them into cells run amok in what is now their “abnormal”
state. In other words, what must be developed is a viable way to
disrupt the flow of a cell's now corrupted DNA and prevent it from
replicating itself and “interrupting”
what was a normal cell's genetically programmed “behavior,”
with
“behavior”
being the
response of a cell to a specific stimulus or group of stimuli, which
ever the case might be.
So
until that's possible what we most likely will now see is even more
of the standardized types of treatments being developed, but hopefully with
less negative and way less sickening side effects, thus making it possible
for even more folks to achieve “remission”
for much longer periods of time. And while treatments themselves are
still not and probably will never be a cure per se...treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy...naming but a few...still do play an important part in helping to turn cancer into a
chronic but controllable disease...like diabetes and high blood
pressure for example...instead of it being what many still consider
to be an outright death sentence.
And so
while progress has been made in slowing down the progression of
certain types of cancer, one must remember that the hoped to hear
word “remission”
itself is not an actual cure. Why so...because too many times
ones cancer will return in one form or another even decades after one
has been deemed as having reached “remission.” So
if not a cure then exactly is “remission?” Simply,
it's the stage where no cancer cells are found in what will most
likely be lifelong blood testing...testing that looks for increases
in what are “carcinoembryonic
antigens”...meaning “bio-markers”
as
they're more commonly known... which
would indicate the
presence of recurring cancer cells now again circulating in what was
the former cancer patient's body and blood stream.
So
with cancer basics having been said, this article is not about
the intricate medical logistics of cancer itself, that's best left
for the doctors and researchers to explain. But this article is about
why, after all these decades of cancer research and promises made, has no cure been found for what is still the
“number two”
cause of death here in the United States, as well as it being the
“number two” cause of death worldwide...with cardiovascular
diseases being
“number one” in both cases. In fact, as per the
“American Cancer Society,” in 2024 alone
there were are about 1,680 deaths per day from cancer here in the
U.S. even with all the cutting edge technology and treatments
available...a very sad commentary indeed.
Sad
for sure, but the answer as to why is really quite simple...in my
opinion it's because a powerful triad of politics, economics, and
”Big Pharma”
simply won't allow an all around cure to found...that is if a true
“one size fits all” cure
is even possible. But why won't the triad of three allow it...because
cancer itself, unfortunately, translates into “big
money.” And while some of said
monies probably are well deserved, I'm sure some of what are
“kickbacks” might
even border on the criminal. But the bottom line is that cancer is
“big money” no
matter how one looks at it.
Unfortunately
, at
least for the foreseeable future, cancer will equate into “big
money” for the oncology
doctors who treat cancer...”big money” for
the pharmaceutical companies who manufacture the drugs used in cancer
treatments (drugs which at times can be just as toxic to the body, if
not more so, than ones cancer itself)...and of course “big
money” for those
elected officials who not only love to spout off about how they cared
so much about cancer that they helped to garner contracts and
monetary grants for cancer research, while in reality they were
helping to line their own pockets. How so...by their helping “Big
Pharma” circumnavigate the numerous regulatory requirements in getting a
given company's
newest cancer drugs
to market at “warp speed.” In
other words, by allowing them to sidestep
the long processes needed to study both a new drug's side effects and
its effectiveness.
And
dare we forget those elected officials who further lined their
pockets by turning what is truly a racially unbiased and colorblind
disease into yet another DEI sounding board by spouting off what is
their own self-perceived “inequity of cancer treatments”
in regards to minorities. And
this includes what these folks deem to be “disparities”
in “unequal access”
to screening, diagnosis, and quality treatment, which might be true
in a limited number of cases, but most assuredly has not been proven
to be the case overall.
And
then there's certain economic aspects as to why a
“one
size fits all” cancer cure
surely will not be on the near horizon, Why so...because the
economics of cancer itself feeds directly into the economics of our
country. How so? With cancer being a “big business” in
its own right, a cure
would not only lead to a decline in what's called the “cancer
treatment industry...which
includes some
major hospitals...but it would lead to substantial losses in both the
pharmaceutical and the high priced healthcare industries in general.
How so...since the need for cancer drugs and related services would
no longer be needed, countless thousands of jobs would be lost which
in turn would automatically put a strain on not just our economy but
on our Social Security system as well. And why...because people would
automatically live longer without the fear of cancer hanging over
their heads, thus leading to more benefits having to be paid out to
beneficiaries, no matter that less monies would now be paid into the
the “Social
Security Trust Fund” what
with thousands of jobs having been lost.
But
the biggest money maker from cancer remains, in my opinion,
“Big Pharma”
itself. And while they have poured billions of their own dollars into developing new cancer drugs and related
treatments, the fact remains that today “Big
Pharma”
has roughly about 860 new cancer drugs being tested or in line
to be tested in all-important clinical trials even as I write this. And
while some might think that number to be outrageous, that figure
comes directly from the pharmaceutical industry’s main trade group, as in the
“Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)”
who also just happens to be the
industry's main lobbying group.
Now to
break the money making side down even further, as per “PhRMA,“
we see the developing of new
cancer drugs being more than twice the number of experimental
drugs for heart disease and stroke combined; nearly twice the number
of drugs being developed for AIDS and all other so called “infectious
diseases” combined; and nearly twice as many for Alzheimer’s
and other neurological diseases again combined. And why...simply
because not only are said cancer drugs way more profitable when
reaching market, but courtesy of their and other of political
lobbyists in D.C., “PhRMA” gets to engage not only in
lobbying for their own new drugs, but they are an actual key player in
advocacy efforts regarding cancer and other drug pricing, the
logistics of drug access itself, and their asking for even more
across the board research funding as well.
And dare not forget
the previously mentioned politicians who aid
“Big Pharma” in
their efforts are usually, albeit silently, being
“rewarded”
for their efforts...most under the
“proverbial table” so
to speak, or with their being given a heads up to future
pharmaceutical stock market activity.
So the bottom
line is this...while a cure for cancer is desperately needed, what's
needed might not be possible in the classic medical sense what with cancer's ability to morph,
spread, and take over ones body. And besides, if cancer is literally eliminated from the discourse, “Big Pharma” not only looses its biggest money maker, but its political clout as well. But what is
possible and way more likely is to see the dreaded “C”
word being turned into a manageable, albeit chronic, disease...a
disease that if handled properly will not affect what is ones
genetically programmed “life span,” And “Big Pharma” will still rake in the profits with the trade off being that cancer patients will be able to live much longer and have a better quality of life. And this might be the
best and the only option for now, in fact, maybe it's been the only option all along.
And while Richard Nixon's dream of 54 years ago was but a jump off point in the “War on Cancer,” the fact remains that maybe Elon Musk and DOGE still need to
look into exactly where all our countless billions of taxpayer
dollars supposedly used to fund cancer research actually did go.
Case closed.
Copyright © 2025 / Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All rights reserved.
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RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!
Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 11th from 7pm to 8:30pm EST, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS
Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'The Business of Cancer...Political and Otherwise', 'The Danger of the Liberal Psyche Exposed, Part Two'; and
important news of the day. Hope you can tune in to RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS on https://rspradio1.com Click 'LISTEN LIVE' starting at 6:50pm EST, show begins at 7pm EST.
