# Would big business not want a cure for cancer because the treatment brings in so much money? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 4, 2013, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348 "2013-08-04T20:10:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348/21 "2013-08-04T22:57:49Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Mercola is a [quack.](http://www.quackwatch.com/11Ind/mercola.html) > > As has been pointed out in numerous threads, all those researchers, executives,salesmen, etc are all subject to getting cancer as is their families. _Someone_ would blow the whistle if a cure was being withheld. Thank you for the link. I read it. I also searched Mercola. There are more positive than negative about him. We are just fighting ignorance here, aren’t we? So, read everything. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348/22 "2013-08-04T23:02:28Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > This theory is, and always has been, extremely stupid. It disregards the human drive for fame and competition, presupposes the existence of an absolutely huge conspiracy, misunderstands what cancer is and how treatment works, and I think it also overlooks the basic concept of prices: if there was a cure for cancer, why wouldn’t the company that makes it just charge the same price they would for lots of treatment? > > Other than that I guess it’s a sound theory. And if the cure is changes in diet and lifestyle? How do you patent it? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348/23 "2013-08-04T23:03:02Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > And if the cure is changes in diet and lifestyle? How do you patent it? Changes in diet and lifestyle don’t cure cancer. And perhaps you’ve noticed that a lot of big companies sell food and dietary supplements. > [@harmonicamoon](#): > > I also searched Mercola. There are more positive than negative about him. > We are just fighting ignorance here, aren’t we? So, read everything. That’s not how facts work. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348/24 "2013-08-04T23:06:40Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Not totally cured but overall cure rates for different types have gone up in the past 30-40 years. If you read the article, you would realize that the number of cancer diagnoses have increased 300% in the last 50 years. So, I guess there are more customers, eh? ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348/25 "2013-08-04T23:09:45Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Same thing with diabetes, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, etc. > > Diabetes and cancer are turning out to be far more complex diseases than anyone ever suspected. If you had read the article, you would realize that they are actually less complex. Actually quite simple to understand. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348/26 "2013-08-04T23:12:04Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > If you read the article, you would realize that the number of cancer diagnoses have increased 300% in the last 50 years. So, I guess there are more customers, eh? Because we’re better at diagnosing diseases and people are living longer. > [@harmonicamoon](#): > > If you had read the article, you would realize that they are actually less complex. Actually quite simple to understand. Read some better articles. What we’ve learned is that cancers can function in all kinds of different ways. That makes it very unlikely one thing is going to cure all cancers. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348/27 "2013-08-04T23:14:04Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Changes in diet and lifestyle don’t cure cancer. And perhaps you’ve noticed that a lot of big companies sell food and dietary supplements. > > That’s not how facts work. Another one who doesn’t read. Read the article and let’s discuss. Facts become evident when we read everything available. We are just fighting ignorance here, okay? ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348/28 "2013-08-04T23:15:22Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > If you had read the article, you would realize that they are actually less complex. Actually quite simple to understand. I didn’t even have to read that article to realize they are selling something. edit- from the article: "GMOs: Avoid genetically engineered foods as they are typically treated with herbicides such as Roundup " That’s a non sequitur at best, and imho actually is just fear weaseling. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348/29 "2013-08-04T23:15:25Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > If you read the article, you would realize that the number of cancer diagnoses have increased 300% in the last 50 years. So, I guess there are more customers, eh? Increased life span. Most cancers don’t develop until late in life. Life expectancy when I was born (1960) was 69, now it’s 78(men). That alone will allow many more cancers to develop in those extra years. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348/30 "2013-08-04T23:17:25Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > Thank you for the link. I read it. I also searched Mercola. There are more positive than negative about him. > We are just fighting ignorance here, aren’t we? So, read everything. Who’s giving the positive? Carefully filtered stories on his site? Other sellers of woo medicine? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348/31 "2013-08-04T23:18:03Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > Facts become evident when we read everything available. No, facts become evident as the result of careful, rigorous research and analysis. Not by throwing a bunch of crap against a wall and then seeing what sticks. For example you seem to be accepting Mercola’s nonsense even though people have already explained why he’s wrong. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348/32 "2013-08-04T23:20:38Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Because we’re better at diagnosing diseases and people are living longer. > > Read some better articles. What we’ve learned is that cancers can function in all kinds of different ways. That makes it very unlikely one thing is going to cure all cancers. Yes, living longer in rest homes, with people changing their diapers. Apparently all cancer has the same metabolism. Cut off its groceries and it starves. Logical, no? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348/33 "2013-08-04T23:23:02Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > Yes, living longer in rest homes, with people changing their diapers. > > Apparently all cancer has the same metabolism. Cut off its groceries and it starves. Logical, no? How do you do that without starving the patient? And I doubt that cancer(which is a myriad of diseases) all share the same metabolism. If that’s so widely known, then a cure would have been found by now. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348/34 "2013-08-04T23:23:07Z")
That’s not close to accurate. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348/35 "2013-08-04T23:24:32Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > I didn’t even have to read that article to realize they are selling something. > > edit- from the article: > "GMOs: Avoid genetically engineered foods as they are typically treated with herbicides such as Roundup " > > That’s a non sequitur at best, and imho actually is just fear weaseling. There is no reason to read anything, if you already have the answers. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348/36 "2013-08-04T23:24:50Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > Yes, living longer in rest homes, with people changing their diapers. Not really- and what does this have to do with anything? > [@](#): > > Apparently all cancer has the same metabolism. Cut off its groceries and it starves. Logical, no? I don’t think you know what metabolism means because this sentence does not make sense. (Or else you’re reading someone who doesn’t know what it means.) Yes, almost anything will die if you prevent it from getting nutrients. There are drugs now that do things like preventing tumors from growing blood vessels, for example. That doesn’t mean curing cancer is simple. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348/37 "2013-08-04T23:25:48Z")
You must have missed where I mentioned something I read in the article. What would you like to discuss? Please be specific, don’t make sweeping “what ifs”. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348/38 "2013-08-04T23:29:50Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > How do you do that without starving the patient? And I doubt that cancer(which is a myriad of diseases) all share the same metabolism. If that’s so widely known, then a cure would have been found by now. Different diets different responses. It is not a matter of starvation and food, okay. Cures are profit motivated. There is no profit when the cure is change of lifestyle. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348/39 "2013-08-04T23:30:38Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > Cures are profit motivated. The website you are referencing is profit motivated. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348/40 "2013-08-04T23:32:13Z")
That bit about increases in cancer is nonsense- comparing cancer diagnosis rates in 1900 with today’s rates is absurd. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-big-business-not-want-a-cure-for-cancer-because-the-treatment-brings-in-so-much-money/665348.md?page=3)