SCI/TECH:New Prostate Cancer Vaccine Is Helping Men Live Longer.

The new cancer vaccine can extend the lives of men fighting advanced prostate cancer. The vaccine uses the patient's own immune cells and are then trained to fight the cancer. By doing this the men in the study who were otherwise untreatable have had four months added to their life.




30,000 deaths are expected this year from prostate cancer. After skin cancer it is the most common cancer in men .

Some may think 4 months is not a very long extension of life but this is a giant leap in cancer research. Also the side effects are only a couple days of fever and chills. That is much better than the side effects of chemotherapy.

Hope this article serves as a reminder to all the men to get a prostate exam.

Related News Links:
today.reuters.co.uk
www.healthtalk.ca
www.detnews.com
www.nytimes.com

[edit on 17/2/2005 by Umbrax]

[edit on 17/2/2005 by Umbrax]

I think anything is better than nothing taking in consideration that prostate cancer can be taken care off if diagnosed in time.

But I wonder if this new Cancer Vaccine will be worth the cost to extend life for four more months.

Prostate Cancer statistice are pretty devistating.
"On average, 386 Canadian men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer every week."www.cancer.ca...

I bet hardly anymen get checked yearly. My last check was six years ago.

See this finger...
learn it
know it
love it
or DIE

yeah the options for men in this arena are real fun...
get checked often, have false positives, have false negative...

find out right after your last test that you have cancer, and maybe not even 6 months to live (and damn... you get checked every year)

and then go thru the various forms of treatment that usually leave men with sexual or urinary disfunction...

so hip hip horray for the cancer vaccine... we all might see our 40th b-day...

not looking forward to my first check... but ya gotta do it... OR DIE

I still don't get it, I have a problem with this vaccine, it only extend life for 4 more months, so what are the benefits of extending four more months of life, and how about the cost.

If the vaccine is overall over the roof as many cancer treatments are, then will it be worth it to pay to live 4 more months.

I have a problem with that, is not a cure is just and extension to live.

Off the top IMO - these guys are on the right track. Each vaccine is developed for every individual patient - it's personalized medicine.

I suspect the real hold up is that they're trying to bring in a more generalized cost-effective treatment - most likely, early effective treatment is already there for those who can afford it.


.

Four months is not much but when you have been told you only have six months to live, that gives a lot of hope.
I think the importance of this study is the long term implications. A four month extension now might be a year or ten year extension after more studies and tests are done.
If you are given 10 years to live before a disease kills you there is hope of a cure in those 10 years. Science is quickly advancing I can't imagine where we will be in ten years.

Umbrax that sound nice and dandy but, the truth is that not everybody can afford that, so who are the ones to benefit from it?

Do you have and idea of how expensive cancer treatment is? some insurance don't even want to cover some of the controversial treatments at all.

Now if this "vaccine" is for free then I will be happy, but if it only for the few that can afford to extend a few more months of life think is a shame.

Now, hit me if I am wrong.

[edit on 17-2-2005 by marg6043]

Originally posted by marg6043
Do you have and idea of how expensive cancer treatment is? some insurance don't even want to cover some of the controversial treatments at all.

I have no idea how much cancer treatment is. I'm Canadian remember .

I do hope this does not become a rich man's life extender. Everyone has the right to live longer and suffer less.

Originally posted by Umbras
I do hope this does not become a rich man's life extender. Everyone has the right to live longer and suffer less.

Don't worry I was just trying to prove a point, I didn't mean to get at you.

Yes unfortunately it seems that only the ones to afford 4 more months of life will be able to have it.

It is a shame.

No worries Marg,I was only referring to Canada's Universal health care. I knew you didn't mean anything against me.

Until you brought it up I never considered that there would be people having to spend their family's life savings or deciding to die sooner.

You are right, it is a shame.

Originally posted by marg6043
Now if this "vaccine" is for free then I will be happy, but if it only for the few that can afford to extend a few more months of life think is a shame.

Living in a capitalist society, we are all on our own, every man/woman for himself/herself.

Regardless, this is an huge improvement in the fight against cancer. Hopefully we can reach a day, when gov't will sponsor this and all vaccinations to everyone in need of them.

Surf