In many endeavors, even those driven by genuine concern, the greatest need is the need we all seem to have: money. It is the same with cancer research.
In doing historical research it is possible to read many books and stories about the same event and get a different viewpoint. So how does one determine the truth? The answer is actually startlingly simple: Follow the money. It is the same with medical research, and more specifically cancer research.
Where Does Cancer Research Funding Come From?
Research on cancer treatment is funded by government grants, pharmaceutical companies, and private charities or investors. Agencies applying for grants use a standard grant formula: they must provide budgets, program outlines, and a proven track record both for their organization and the substance they wish to research. Much of this funding is funneled through the National Cancer Institute or through Universities. These organizations tend to have lengthy application processes and stringent guidelines that make it difficult to fund unproven ideas.
Unproven ideas often fail, but also often produce the greatest innovations. The difficulty is getting the idea past the establishment. It requires a passionate individual or group of individuals that believes in the idea enough to invest personal time and energy in acquiring funding that may or may not come.
Why Does Cancer Research Stop?
Earlier in this series is an article on the pawpaw family of botanicals and thier cancer curing properties, baed on research done by Dr. McLaughlin of Purdue University. The studies showed incredible promise, but the research ceased after Dr. McLaughlin’s death. No one continued to seek the funding once he was gone. The reason for this is unclear, but the likelihood is that he wrote his own grants and with his passing there was no one with the desire and the ability to seek needed resources.
Grant writing itself is an art. Few possess the talent needed and professional grant writers do not work cheaply. Granting agencies receive hundreds, sometimes thousands of grant applications annually and with increased limits on funding many of those applications are turned down. A grant package that is less than professional will be rejected almost immediately, and the agency may never see the merit of the product being researched: simply put it many never get that far in the process.
Why Is Cancer Research So Expensive?
Like all other medical testing cancer research must comply with FDA regulations, and be conducted in a medical laboratory with a properly sterile environment, and with approved medical equipment. Special equipment is needed to create the substances being tested, administer it to patients, and study the results. Doctors and researchers must be paid for their time and effort.
These laboratories exist in a limited number of locations and are often funded by the agency seeking grants. As university funding is cut from state budgets, these labs must be maintained by grant money or private contributors. If they are not, universities are forced to close them in favor of other programs that bring the institution more stable funding streams.
Pharmaceutical laboratories are often dedicated to research begun by the company and perceived to make them a profit once it is completed. A researcher must “sell” his idea to such companies, and show definitively how it will benefit the company’s long term goals. This requires that the researcher be well spoken and have some previous studies that show his work will be successful. These companies work for profit, and want a return if they are going to invest in a project.
An Example of Innovative Cancer Research
A preliminary test was recently conducted on three cancer patients by the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. June. The results were astounding. All three patients were essentially “cured” of their cancer. But the research nearly did not happen. It was such a new technique and so controversial that the National Cancer Institute and pharmaceutical companies would not fund it. Limited grant funding was obtained from the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy. But it was only enough to finance the trials on this small number of patients.
Thus the results have to be called preliminary. The technique must be practiced on a number of patients with full studies of possible side effects and long term health before the treatment will be approved by the FDA. It is certain these results will generate funding, as the status of the company or university that found the cure for cancer would be sure to propel them to the top of the list for follow up grant funding on other diseases.
What Can Be Done to Accelerate Cancer Research?
It is all about the money to the companies and institutions that perform cancer research. But to those who suffer from the disease or have lost relatives or friends it is personal. Here are some simple things you can do to help.
Petition you congressman about cancer research funding. With new budget cuts every day congress is eyeing programs to cut. Let your voice be heard, and don’t let the cuts be in this vital area.
Contribute to charitable organizations that fund research. The more private money that is available, the fewer researchers rely on the federal government for funding. Private organizations tend to fund programs the government does not.
Join committees that decide how charitable funding is used. Become a part of the decision making process and do research on your own. This will give you the best idea of what is happening, and give you an inside look at the process of granting and research funding.
Donate funds yourself to non-profit granting agencies. Private doantions are the second most important source for funding dollars besides governent endowments. Your money can and does make a difference in the number of people helped through cancer research.
Stay informed, get involved, and make a difference for cancer research.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be used for diagnosis or to guide treatment without the opinion of a health professional. Any reader who is concerned about his or her health should contact a doctor for advice.
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