27 August 2021 - Updates to Strategic Plan to Substantially Reduce Cancer Deaths

This essay summarizes the latest version of our Strategic plan to substantially reduce cancer
deaths, http://www.natpernick.com/StrategicPlanCuringCancer.html  .

* First, it is important to have an ambitious plan that itemizes what needs to be done and
what needs to be better understood. Our plan might fail. But it is important to “dare greatly”,
see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizenship_in_a_Republic, and attempt to achieve our actual goals, even if we do not know precisely how to do so.

* Second, reducing the high number of US cancer deaths is a management problem that
requires that we optimize each step of cancer’s clinical pathway (prevention, early detection,
treatment and failure to respond to treatment). It is not primarily a problem of finding a “silver
bullet” or “magic pill”.

* Third, we should study and reduce cancer deaths that occur shortly after diagnosis. These
may be preventable if due to (a) overzealous treatment that does not adequately balance
treatment side effects, (b) predictable infections or (c) damage to essential physiologic
networks that can be normalized.

* Fourth, we speculate that for each cancer type, even the most aggressive, there exists a
combination of perhaps 8-10 therapies that individually may be only partially effective but
together can be substantially effective. Effective combinations not only target the cancer cells
but their surrounding microenvironment; systemic networks involving inflammation, the
immune system and possibly hormones; germline variations in DNA and known patient risk
factors for this disease.

* Finally, we outline important therapeutic strategies, including:

– Treatment should focus on managing the malignancy to reduce death and disability, not
eliminating every possible cancer cell.

– Consider achieving “marginal gains” at all steps of the disease process, which may
increase possible treatment options and reduce a sense of futility.

– Therapy should be patient centered to the extent possible because patients may have
markedly different therapeutic preferences.

– Aggressively enroll patients into clinical trials so physicians can learn and improve over
time.

You can help:

* Follow our Curing Cancer Blog at https://natpernickshealthblog.wordpress.com/

* Sign up for our Curing Cancer Network monthly newsletter by clicking at
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/onz6IND .

* Become an example to others of anti-cancer behavior. Read our American Code against
Cancer at http://www.natpernick.com/AmericanCodeAgainstCancer.html, decide what
steps you can take to reduce your cancer risk and spread the word through your social
networks.

 

 

 

 

10 August 2021: Letter to President Biden

 

Let me know if you have comments for future letters or you have suggested contacts.

Thanks

--------

10 August 2021

Dear President Biden,

I am a pathologist who developed PathologyOutlines.com, a free online pathology textbook used regularly by pathologists worldwide.

Consistent with your goal of ending cancer as we know it, I have developed a strategic plan to substantially reduce cancer deaths from the current level of 600,000 per year to 100,000 per year, see http://www.natpernick.com/StrategicPlanCuringCancer.html.

Who do you know, in or outside government, who is willing to “think outside the box”, and focus on this long term goal and what we need to do to get there?

Unfortunately, most cancer physicians and scientists are focused on short term thinking - promoting their career and not ruffling too many feathers. They don’t want to take risks that may fail. In addition, too many scientists are wedded to reductionist thinking and focus on naive concepts such as “the cure” or “a world without cancer”. However, cancer is the result of intersecting webs of disturbed physiologic networks - we typically will need to cut many strands of the web to destroy its function - a few drugs will usually be inadequate to do that. We also need more ambitious prevention goals such as markedly reducing tobacco use and obesity and making dramatic changes to our diet if we want to substantially reduce cancer deaths.

Our work is moving forward with the help of a growing network of interested people, but the more people in our network, the better. I would appreciate your help, or that of your staff, in advancing this cause by identifying interested people to work with us.

We don’t need your money, but we do need your connections!

Please review and advise.

6 August 2021: Updates to Strategic Plan

We have updated our Strategic Plan to substantially reduce cancer deaths, see http://www.natpernick.com/StrategicPlanCuringCancer.html .

There are three main changes. First, we propose that success in substantially reducing cancer deaths is essentially a management task, not a technological one. Second, we have broken down treatment related goals into specific tasks that can be assigned to individuals or groups. Third, the overall plan was “tightened up” and is shorter.

We have created a table listing malignant attributes associated with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, the most common type of pancreatic cancer, see http://natpernick.com/Pancreatic%20Cancer%20Treatment%20Targets.html. We need to further refine this table by adding more attributes, by identifying more treatments that are at least partially effective against these attributes and by contacting individuals who might be interested in pursuing clinical studies testing therapies against these attributes.

We plan to create similar tables for lung and liver cancer, the other major aggressive malignancies. For colorectal, breast and prostate cancer, we have to separate out the specific types that are the major causes of cancer death since most cases have favorable survival. We plan to hire a research assistant to assist with these tasks.

We have met with public health experts at the State and County level to discuss reducing the cancer risk factors listed in the American Code against Cancer, see http://www.natpernick.com/AmericanCodeAgainstCancer.html. Although public health agencies are currently overwhelmed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we plan to work with them to discuss how to achieve the ambitious behavioral changes necessary to markedly reduce cancer deaths. We may also sponsor high school science fairs or essay contests related to cancer.

You can help:

* Follow our Curing Cancer Blog at https://natpernickshealthblog.wordpress.com/ .

* Sign up for our Curing Cancer Network monthly newsletter by clicking at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/onz6IND .

* Become an example to others of anti-cancer behavior. Read our American Code against Cancer at http://www.natpernick.com/AmericanCodeAgainstCancer.html, decide what steps you can take to reduce your cancer risk and spread the word through your social networks.

* Tell any medical researchers you know about our current grants at https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/grants.html .

* Contact me with your thoughts and suggestions at Nat@PathologyOutlines.com