The World Health Organization predicts that cancer will kill about 13 million people in 2030. The Swiss-based pharmaceutical giants Roche and Novartis seem very proud of the huge profits they are earning from the sale of anti-cancer products. Roche, whose anti-cancer medicines represent 60% of sales of its pharmaceutical division, earned a benefit of 10 billion Swiss francs from these products in 2012. Its major anti-cancer products include Avastin, Herceptin, and MabTher/Rituxan. Avastin is a very costly and controversial drug. While still approved for treatment of ovarian, lung and colon cancers, its use for breast cancer has been revoked by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration. Treatment by Avastin can cost as much as $100,000 per year and cause terrible side effects while only extending life by several months. (
View the November 2011 post on Avastin.)
Primary prevention, which is preventing cancer from ever occurring by identifying and regulating the occupational and environmental factors which cause cancer, is not profitable for the cancer industry. Prevention includes individuals adopting behavior which limits exposure to cancer such as avoiding bisphenol A, minimizing dry cleaning, making informed decisions about medical radiation, limiting cell phone use, consuming organic foods, becoming a health advocate. We have to take personal responsibility for our health, since regulators are so remiss in ensuring the safety of common consumer products.
The following article is very pro-cancer industry.
The business of cancer research by Chantal Britt,
swissinfo.ch, 14 March 2013
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