Would anyone call it a "Conspiracy" or is it just coincidence, that medical research hasn't found a cure for Cancer, Arthritis or any indeed any Chronic Disease yet?
No doubt, medical research has brought us amazing discoveries and advantages. It borders on the Super Natural to see how human life's can be brought back from the near death or how accident victims recover.
I must express my honest respect for the endless dedication of those people who have brought us all what we have now.
I simply wonder, and question, as any non-scientist or medical person would;
"how come that with such a tremendous progress in medical science and research we seem not be any closer of "curing" anything".
Diseases seem to be worse, there seem to be more sick people now than ever, statistics for cancer and chronic diseases have gone up, not down.
Chronic Diseses, Cancer, Auto-immune diseases, Allergy Conditino, even Infections - are constantly treated and researched, but for the sufferer the pain stays the same, no cure in sight.
Is research focusing on "disease maintenance" or cure?
Take Arthritis for example, a seemingly well researched disease. Millions - Billions of Dollars pumped into it... into what? New anti-inflammatory medication to maintain a patient or maybe a possible cure? Not only that, apparently the taking of non steroid anti inflammatory drugs seem to speed up bone and cartilage degeneration, actually progressing the disease, rather than curing it.
Treatment focus on most diseses still seem to be the same, a wait and see practice and treat treat the symptom situation.
First painkillers - than anti-inflammatories - than some harder drugs - and finally, if there is a possibility, a corrective operation. The last probably the greatest blessing for the long term sufferer.... a new hip, no pain, more mobility instead of years of pain and inflammation.
But nothing to cure the condition before it develops into a degenerative disese which needs surgical intervention!
Actually, is anything ever cured?
Or is everything just patched up or medicated for the rest of our lives?
What has that to do with conspiracy? .... probably nothing.
I don't really believe in conspiracy, much too complicated.
I think it is just a normal progression of a huge Industry with huge powers, money driven for shareholders satisfaction, which would find it much to hard to change directions.
Basically, it could be argued, is the money which is flowing into research going there, because of a genuine interest to find cures, to keep people alive with maintanance treatment or is it to make more profit, or maybe all of the above.
However, if the research funds go towards "maintaining" a disease, rather than into new possible ideas and direction to cure a disease, a cure will be a long time off.
You may see on that statement, that I don't really blame the drug companies or anyone else in particular, it's a system problem and how funding is directed, and how lateral research money is distributed.
The question, however remains, if there could be a universal cure for most diseases, maybe a genetic corrected computer generated nutritional program for each individual, would something like that be promoted?
There is not much money to be made, maybe it would cost only $5000 to have your gene print out with your optimum nutritional guidelines to stay free of chronic diseses, but would anyone actually stick to such a program?
Would anyone adopt such a program and associated lifestyle?
Or would it be like smoking, drinking and junk food, where we all know, it is not good, but most of us still do it?
I simply wonder how this huge "machine" can be turned into a different direction, where the fear of not making any money dissolves and the excitement of finding cures increases.
To come back to our over simplified example of Arthritis, instead of finding and financing better anti-inflammatory drugs, which with no doubt create a huge ongoing constant never to run out financial return, why not research:
"why is the inflammation there in the first place, and why not in everyone?"
Is there any research on people who are and saty healty, to learn how unhealthy people can be supported?
I somehow can't grasp the notion that medical treatment always seem to involve drugs which suppress or kill something within our system, and most of the time with side effects, which over a long period will make it necessary to take more drugs to treat those side effects.
Statistics about iatrogenic* conditions within the medical system sound mind boggling.
I wouldn'd be even game to publish any data here, but I would like to hear about recent statistics and if the stats are getting worse or improving.
*( Iatrogenesis - side effects or complication resulting from medical treatment or advice. Some studies indicate 30% of illnesses are iatrogenic )
Sooner or later the bulk of modern research has to involve methods in supporting the body - healing the body - finding cures - strengthening immune systems,
with other words, supporting health, not fighting against diseases.
Actually the word "fighting" should disappear from the medical - health environment, fighting always leads to destruction, and the "Co-lateral Damage" can't be sustained any longer.
Article provided by:
Dieter L. - useNature - Editor
