There's a piece of news about an acquisition today which will likely have a significant influence on the future of cancer research. For anyone who has cancer, or has had a family member with the disease, Bristol-Myers Squibb's announcement that it is acquiring cancer drugmaker Celgene for $74 billion is significant.
Not long ago, SurvivorNet sat down with the Chief Scientific Officer at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Dr. Tom Lynch. Dr. Lynch spent many years as a noted lung cancer specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Yale Cancer Center. He says it's important to be realistic about the extraordinary new advances in cancer research. But he used a fairly remarkable analogy. “What I think is fair to say is, my daughter is a second-year medical student, I would hope that the amount of progress that she sees in her career is greater than the amount of progress that I’ve seen in my career,” he told SurvivorNet.
Read MoreDr. Lynch acknowledges that people are looking for hope — but he also pointed out that when a new discovery in cancer research comes along, it does take time before medical professionals know how significant it is. He used the HPV vaccine as an example; just a few years ago a vaccine was developed that could reduce people’s chances of getting cancer — particularly cervical cancer in women. “When that was discovered and advanced, it didn’t get any fanfare,” Dr. Lynch said. “And that was a major advance in how cancer can be prevented.”
When it comes to cancer research, Dr. Lynch says it’s important to find a balance between hope and reality — doctors and researchers have made incredible progress in screening for and treating many cancers, but there’s still a long way to go.
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