Cancer is a horrible disease and there are few people who have not been impacted by it in some way, drugs whether personally or through a friend or acquaintance. The battle against cancer has been decades long with incredible advances in early detection and medical treatment, sales and still we have no cure. Billions upon billions of dollars have been raised to fund cancer research while the costs of cancer treatment continue to rise.
Cancer patients often cannot work full time jobs due to the intensity of their treatment and the toll it takes on their physical and emotional person. They, order along with their families, suffer the economic consequences of that fact. The patient’s caretaker is adversely impacted on their job as well, particularly if they are active and engaged advocates for the cancer patient. Wives, partners, parents, and other family members are negatively impacted by leaving work early or being absent altogether due to being the primary support for the family member going through cancer treatment. It becomes an economic catastrophe for the entire family, not to mention the emotional and psychological toll it takes. The endless tests upon tests; chemotherapy treatments; continual scans of this and that; radiation, x-rays, medications, transfusions, consultations; the cadre of medical staff and specialists employed in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer is astronomical, the costs exorbitant, and the financial impact profound.
It may be a cynical position to take, but it must be recognized that treating cancer is BIG business. While raising awareness for research and prevention is a very good thing, it seems that the economic benefits of actually treating cancer makes one wonder why is it taking so long to actually find a cure? The unbelievable costs for one day of treating someone with advanced cancer in a specialized cancer unit of a standard hospital are far beyond what the average person’s insurance policy can handle, and therefore additional resources must be found, including people tapping into savings and retirement accounts, selling property, and collecting donations. By the time the cancer has been arrested, paused, or has ultimately taken the life of the patient, over a quarter million dollars is easily spent in a matter of a few months. The comedian Chris Rock proclaimed once, in referring to the War on Drugs, that the fact is “If we really wanted to STOP drugs from coming into the U.S. we would.” Rock said it’s not in the first purchase or the second, “It’s in the COMEBACK!” The inference is that solving the so-called problem of drugs and drug addiction is not the objective at all; that keeping the flow of drugs intact makes and keeps customers coming back for the trade. It is not about the cure; it’s about the BUSINESS of the Comeback!
In recent months and years, we have lost several members of our family to the heinous disease of cancer, and in past decades many more. With so much attention paid to this disease worldwide, and so much money raised, WHY is there STILL NO CURE? I sincerely hope it is not because of the Big Business of Cancer Treatment.
Dr.T
Tawnya Pettiford-Wates, Ph.D.
Founder and Artistic Director
The Conciliation Project and
Associate Professor
Virginia Commonwealth University
DrT@Margins2theCenter.com
www.theconciliationproject.org
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