Defeating America's top killers: heart disease and cancer

By Dick Pelletier

      

    The recent National Institutes of Health policy to change the focus on medicine from "reactive" to "proactive", and President-elect Obama's bold plan to spend $50 billion over the next five years to help the medical industry adopt electronic health records, are expected to reduce spiraling U.S. healthcare costs and lower death rates for America’s killer diseases.

    Economists predict that by 2015, healthcare will total a whopping $4 trillion, or one in every five government dollars spent. This estimate is based on longer life spans and developing technologies, according to a report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service.

    In addition to reducing costs, this new healthcare approach is expected to speed development in genetic engineering, stem cell therapies and nanotechnology, resulting in fewer people dying from our two top killers; heart disease and cancer. This article describes some of the progress in defeating these two deadly diseases.

    Say goodbye to much of the damage caused by heart attacks and strokes. Heart disease tops the list of America’s medical problems causing 280,000 deaths annually.

    When people suffer a heart attack or stroke, blood is blocked from reaching heart and brain tissues causing those tissues to die. If patients make it to the hospital in time, drugs prevent this damage, but most arrive too late. At best, much of the surrounding heart or brain tissue is lost, and at worse, the patient dies.

    Duke University scientists recently identified the gene responsible for stopping blood flow during a heart attack or stroke, and they developed a gene-changing drug that allows blood to flow freely when the body is traumatized. This cutting-edge science will greatly increase survival rates for people with heart disease who might one day suffer a heart attack or stroke.

    UC San Diego Medical Center is now enrolling patients in Phase-2 clinical trials of this therapy. Phase-1 data, reported at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2008, demonstrated that the therapy was safe. This drug could be saving lives everywhere by mid-decade.

    No more suffering, death from cancer by 2015. In 2003, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, then director of the National Cancer Institute, outlined his goal to eliminate suffering and death from cancer by 2015. "This prediction does not mean that cancer will be cured by then," he said, "I don’t know when that will happen. But the challenge is to understand the disease and create interventions so that no one will suffer and die prematurely from cancer."

    To make this happen, NCI began a five-year commitment to develop nanotechnology to fight cancer. "This wonder-science has the potential to radically increase our options for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer," officials said.

    The NCI has joined key research centers and strengthened relationships with the FDA to insure that breakthroughs reach clinics in a timely manner. Because of these efforts, forward-thinkers agree that cancer can be manageable by 2015 and that nobody will suffer the pain and death that this dreadful disease dishes out today.

    Can the world's most powerful nation eliminate most deaths from its two biggest killers in just six short years? Positive thinkers believe that yes, this "magical future" can truly become our reality.

This article appeared in various print publications and on-line blogs. Comments always welcome.