famous people and cancer

Well, when "celebrities" get cancer, it certainly brings more visibility to the subject. This may or may not encourage others to donate more money to research. but what really helps is when these folks use the power of their celebrity status to start foundations to bring in money for research, or aid currently existing research bodies by providing them money, or a means to get more charitable donations.

It is a good move to highlight cancer, particularly by Public Personalities. Of all illnesses, I think cancer can be the most devestating. A lot has been done for detection & treatment, but we have a long way to go. Please everyone, promote research into cancer.

I tend to believe the "Natural Cures" guy when he says that the medical industry really doesn't want to cure cancer, they just want to treat it. I think it is the case for all of the serious diseases. Modern science is so amazing. I truly believe that if the medical and specifically pharmaceutical industries weren't so lucrative that there would be many more cures out there. One thing that I do like about Elizabeth Edwards and her candor about the return of her cancer is that she might take some of the stigma out of it. She might show people that your life doesn't have to end because of cancer, until you actually die from it. I admire her tremendously and wish the very best to her and her family.

I truly believe we hear enough about cancers right now. What all this SHOULD do though is start people thinking of cancer as not only a disease based on eating, drinking, and smoking habits, but also as a disease associated with aging, like Alzheimer's I don't think early detection will do much more good than it does now, since the development of cancer cures will need to get past the need for one group of people to use it as a tool to scare another group of people into giving up their pleasures.

Well we can only hope that there will be more funding for cancer reseach so that people can receive more help with testing and detection. But Alzheimers is not cancer. But a lot of stars have these dreadful diseases but then again they are humans just like you and me.

Can this bring more visibility to the need for more funding for cancer reasearch? I hope so.Will it I don't think so. There would be more public outcry if it were a big movie star that had cancer. Many Americans don't even know who Mrs. Edwards and Mr. Snow are.

I don't think it makes a difference, as research has been on this constantly already. And doctors are constantly telling their patients to check themselves and take mamos. So, as far as fund raising, it will stay the same.

I think people are aware, but it isn't until it affects them personally or a close relative, that they feel obliged to truly care and work toward prevention or a cure. I can honeslty see a time in the future where we can predict all teh causes, and have innoculations to protect us. We already have Gardisil, the first vaccine against cervical cancer, and this is a monumental step in science and history

it surely does and its a good thing coz they serve as models for those things...and people or govt., will then be enforce to plan another research facilities for the cure of this deadly diseases..