Breast Cancer Research - Its not what you think it is

Despite news reports about advances in breast cancer research, the fact remains
that women diagnosed with breast cancer today face essentially the same
treatment optionssurgery, radiation and chemotherapythat were offered
when the War on Cancer was first declared nearly thirty years ago. And when it
comes to prevention, the only options we are given are powerful pills with
dangerous side effects, and surgery more drastic than that often prescribed for
women with the disease. To understand why there has been so little progress in
breast cancer treatment and prevention one must look at the current structure of
cancer researchboth how it is funded and how it is being done.
Currently, a wide range of public and private entities conducts cancer research.
At the federal level alone, a number of agencies are funding breast cancer
research: Many states have their own research programs and there are a
number of private agenciesfrom the American Cancer Society to the Susan G.
Komen Foundation to the Breast Cancer Research Foundationthat also fund
research. Finally, pharmaceutical companies are engaged in breast cancer
research as well.
Progress is slowed by the lack of any coordination of the work of these diverse
bodies. Research being done by a drug company in California could be the same
as a study being done by a research hospital in New York, or a non-profit agency
in Atlanta. There is no system in place for making sure that research efforts move
us forward toward effective treatments and true prevention or even that current
research efforts complement each other. This inefficient use of resources delays
real progress.
Another obstacle to meaningful advancement is the fact that research is largely
funded in small increments. Decisions are based on whats hot in research or
what will produce quick results and lead to more grants, academic promotion, or
personal economic gain. This funding structure does not foster the type of longrange, broad look at breast cancer that is necessary to understanding its causes
and how to treat it more effectively and less toxically. Instead, it has generated
research focused on the human genome and molecular biology, which has
promise but whose practical applications are either limited or unavailable until far
into the future. With a new breast cancer diagnosis every 2.5 minutes, and a
death from the disease every 12 minutes, we cannot afford to be patient.