Question: people all over are spending billions of pounds to find the cure for cancer. I don't understand how we found the cure for ebola very quickly but cant get the cure for cancer. why is that?

Usman Bashir answered on 17 Jun 2015:

There are multiple reasons.

Mainly, because cancers are ‘rogue cells’ of our own body. They share 99% of the same genes as normal ‘citizens’, so finding and killing a cancer means sacrificing alot of normal cells of the body as well!
You know how hard it is to find a ‘mole’ in your organization? So it stays undetected until it is so large that you have to sacrifice entire organs, e.g., a stomach, a liver, or lung, to cure it.

Secondly, all cancers are different. You need different drugs to kill them. Even if a few hundred cells remain after you decimate millions of them with your drug (also killing alot of normal cells and gravely weakening the patient), it can still grow back.

Thirdly, you just cant sacrifice your normal cells once the cancer reaches the brain, coz that means death for the patient. Then we just have to accept that we cannot cure it, and the person gradually fades away..

What we want is a miracle drug A drug which targets JUST the cancer cells and not normal cells. Secondly, the drug MUST kill ALL cells, killing 90% cancer cells is just not good enough. Latest research is on ‘molecular agents’, drugs that specifically target cancer-related genes. It is hoped they might one day provide the cure.