# we need a cure or something for cancer **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 2, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-cure-or-something-for-cancer/611589 "2012-02-02T22:22:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-cure-or-something-for-cancer/611589/41 "2012-02-03T17:43:47Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Cancer often returns after being removed from the body. You could say that its nature’s “Sock Account.” > > Why doesn’t Marley just ban it? _Marley_? Next thing you know the Earth is a lifeless cinder. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-cure-or-something-for-cancer/611589/42 "2012-02-03T17:51:46Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Yup, I botched that one. :smack: I meant skeptical or one of its synonyms. Oh trust me, I’m skeptical. I don’t think I’ll see a “cure” for cancer in my lifetime, no matter how many pink ribbons are out there… ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-cure-or-something-for-cancer/611589/43 "2012-02-03T17:54:27Z")
> [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > Oh trust me, I’m skeptical. Not skeptical enough- at least not in that post. There are few claims more dubious than the ones that blogger was making. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-cure-or-something-for-cancer/611589/44 "2012-02-03T18:02:06Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > There will never be a single, all-encompassing cure for cancer, because cancer is a multitude of diseases share only one thing in common: cells growing out of control. Each cancer is unique, even in a particular cancer type. Nonsense, the cure is obvious. DESTROY EVERY CELL IN THE WORLD! ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-cure-or-something-for-cancer/611589/45 "2012-02-03T18:48:09Z")
> [@highrollinwooded](#): > > People posting callous comments about cancer deaths keeping the population in check have obviously NOT lost a loved one to the horrid disease!!! This is both wrong and rather insensitive. You can deal with your grief however you like, but don’t get self-righteous about it. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-cure-or-something-for-cancer/611589/46 "2012-02-03T19:13:58Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Yup, I botched that one. :smack: I meant skeptical or one of its synonyms. I know. I was just being a picky little asshole. I’m OK with you banning cancer, though… ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-cure-or-something-for-cancer/611589/47 "2012-02-03T19:46:38Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Not skeptical enough- at least not in that post. There are few claims more dubious than the ones that blogger was making. For starters, companies patent drugs all the time that come from plant derivatives and common substances. Not to mention that cancers come from **tons** of different causes. Saying “they’re hiding the cure for cancer” is like saying someone’s hiding “the cure” for headaches or back pain or chest pain. There is no magic bullet for any of those. Plus, said blogger links to the “apricot seeds treatment” as another resource, which is a long-discredited bit of snake oil. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-cure-or-something-for-cancer/611589/48 "2012-02-03T19:56:33Z")
Oh wait, [here’s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichloroacetic_acid) **Soylent Juicy** ’s blogger’s reportedly suppressed miracle cure. Thank goodness for obscure websites like Wikipedia to tell us this stuff. By the way, it can be patented specifically for cancer treatment [and has been](http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070120/DCA_feature_070121/20070122?hub=Health), and [research is ongoing on that particular chemical](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichloroacetic_acid#Potential_cancer_applications). ---
**Author:** ![punch\_line\_loser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e7dd6/32.png) [@punch\_line\_loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/punch_line_loser)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-cure-or-something-for-cancer/611589/49 "2012-02-03T20:42:15Z")
And take out the rest of the Zodiac with it. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-cure-or-something-for-cancer/611589/50 "2012-02-03T22:17:39Z")
It’s worth pointing out that there will likely never be a cure for cancer, because cancer is not 1 disease, it’s thousands of diseases that effect the way cells grow and die in different ways. It only looks the same on a macroscopic level. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-cure-or-something-for-cancer/611589/51 "2012-02-03T23:37:30Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Cancer often returns after being removed from the body. You could say that its nature’s “Sock Account.” > > Why doesn’t Marley just ban it? And then there are secondary cancers which occur as a result of the treatment we give the first time around. ---
**Author:** ![ExcitedIdiot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ea5d25/32.png) [@ExcitedIdiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExcitedIdiot)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-cure-or-something-for-cancer/611589/52 "2012-02-04T01:30:37Z")
> [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > Apparently there already is a cure but because it can’t be patented the pharmaceutical companies want nothing to do with it. (Read: They can’t make money off it.) > > [http://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/the-cure-for-cancer-has-been/](http://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/the-cure-for-cancer-has-been/) > > I’m not surprised at all - cancer brings in Big Money. > > (I lost my best friend to small cell sarcoma, she was 38.) So far the only real study that’s been published involved 5 people, and didn’t show any dramatic improvement. Also, it’s use in treating cancer HAS been patented according to wikipedia. > **[Dichloroacetic acid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichloroacetic_acid)** > > Dichloroacetic acid (DCA), sometimes called bichloroacetic acid (BCA), is the organic compound with formula .mw-parser-output .template-chem2-su{display:inline-block;font-size:80%;line-height:1;vertical-align:-0.35em}.mw-parser-output .template-chem2-su\>span{display:block;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output sub.template-chem2-sub{font-size:80%;vertical-align:-0.35em}.mw-parser-output sup.template-chem2-sup{font-size:80%;vertical-align:0.65em}CHCl2CO2H. It is an analogue of acetic acid, in which 2 o... ---
**Author:** ![Beastly\_Rotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@Beastly\_Rotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastly_Rotter)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-cure-or-something-for-cancer/611589/53 "2012-02-04T02:02:30Z")
> [@highrollinwooded](#): > > People posting callous comments about cancer deaths keeping the population in check have obviously NOT lost a loved one to the horrid disease!!! You’ve obviously never read J B S Haldane: [I wish I had the voice of Homer To sing of rectal carcinoma](http://nsm.uh.edu/~dgraur/Texts/Cancerhaldane.htm) Yes, he wrote it as it was killing him, in the mightiest Fuck You ever. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-cure-or-something-for-cancer/611589/54 "2012-02-05T19:10:06Z")
> [@ExcitedIdiot](#): > > So far the only real study that’s been published involved 5 people, and didn’t show any dramatic improvement. This wasn’t very encouraging either: > [@](#): > > In 2010, it was found that for human colorectal tumours grown in mice, under hypoxic conditions, DCA decreased rather than increased apoptosis, resulting in enhanced growth of the tumours. > [@ExcitedIdiot](#): > > Also, it’s use in treating cancer HAS been patented according to wikipedia. Even if the drug itself can’t be patented, its use as part of a drug cocktail or a delivery system probably could be. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-cure-or-something-for-cancer/611589/55 "2012-02-05T19:23:10Z")
Dr. Tulio Simoncini says that [cancer is a fungus](http://www.curenaturalicancro.com/) and can be treated with bicarbonate of soda. However, I tend to believe his claim is horseshit of the worst kind. It does sell a lot of books, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-cure-or-something-for-cancer/611589.md?page=2)