We have smart drugs now. They are very smart. They outsmart tumor cells and the tumors disappear. But they aren't smart enough. The drugs work for months and then they eventually stop working and the cancers return. These drugs are not cheap either. One of them 'vemurafenib' costs a paltry $9400/month or over $100,000 for a year, if it works for that long. It works for an average of seven months.
Actually these drugs are pretty smart. They target a tumor's weaknesses and melts them away. But I have two problems with them. Cancer cells are sneaky b*stards (excuse my language here) and learn to outsmart these new drugs. We need rocket scientist drugs which will continue to outsmart cancer cells and can stay ahead of them. The worst thing we could do would be to end up with drug resistant cancers which become resistant to treatment like some germs are to antibiotics.
We also need rocket scientist drugs who will work for cheap. A drug that costs $9400/month and only lasts for an average of 7 months is a bit on the expensive side. It doesn't matter if insurance covers it or not because the cost works its way back down through the cost chain.
Wanted: Rocket scientist anti cancer drug which can stay ahead of the competition by out smarting the cancer cells. Low salary, long hours, repayment - saving millions of lives.
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