Curing cancer: are we there yet?
An estimated 121,500 Australians will be told they have cancer this year, with one in two Australian men and one in three Australian women diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85. So, how far away are we from ‘the cure’?
An estimated 121,500 Australians will be told they have cancer this year, with one in two Australian men and one in three Australian women diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85.
So, how far away are we from ‘the cure’? Professor Roger Reddel from Sydney Medical School, one of Australia’s leading cancer researchers, yesterday provided the ‘big picture’ on cancer including the latest advances in understanding and treatment. His talk was the latest in the series 21st Century Medicine at the Sydney Cancer Conference 2012, held at the University of Sydney.
“The news media bombard us with so many cancer research ‘breakthroughs’ that it would be easy to form the impression that a cure for cancer will be found any day now.
“On the other hand, there are critics who consider that the billions of dollars spent on the so-called war on cancer have been used ineffectively and that we are in fact losing the war. The reality lies somewhere between these two views,” Professor Reddel said.
The conference brings together researchers from different areas including engineering, veterinary science, pharmacy and nursing to present their latest findings and catalyse future research collaborations.
Professor Phyllis Butow, from the University’s School of Psychology, will present her research on how language difficulties and cultural factors may contribute to poorer outcomes for first generation immigrants with cancer.
“We found Chinese, Arabic and Greek immigrants with cancer have worse psychological and quality of life outcomes than Anglo-Australians,” Professor Butow said.
“Furthermore immigrants who reported less understanding of the health system and greater language difficulties had significantly worse outcomes than immigrants with a greater familiarity of Australia’s culture.”
The conference was hosted by the Cancer Research Network, a cross-disciplinary initiative of the University with an emphasis on communicating research findings to practitioners and the general public.
