That's not entirely true. In the past 16 years they have invented 3D conformal, IMRT, PBT, PET (PET/CT) and MRI scanners that actually work, it was about 15 years ago when I got the first FDA clearances to market for 3D algorithms for use in CT, MRI and Ultrasound. Image fusion, R2 Imagechecker for automatically and with artificial intelligence, scanning and indicating ROI on mammograms, Brachytherapy, the Cyberknife and come up with an antiemetic that actually works (Zofran for one). Chemo cocktails. They understand a lot more about genetics, the virus link, EBV and HPV. We are on the brink on having successful monoclonal antibodies and EGFR drugs. There is no way I would have wanted cancer 16 years ago and I admire Cathy mightily for having gone through the treatment back then and surviving. As a society we are finally doing something about smoking (I favor an international ban on tobacco products) which will have a huge impact on the cancer death rate.

These are exciting times from a technological standpoint.

We have seen the death rates from breast and prostate cancer plummet dramatically. And Brians working on the H&N numbers as we speak.

Now considering that the 2 main forms of death are heart disease and cancer, when they improve the odds for one they lower the odds for the other and it continually see saws back and forth.

We have come a long way since they were sawing peoples legs off without anesthesia in unsterile, crosscontaminated conditions (1860's) and it was only a few years later that the first successful treatment of a head & neck cancer patient was performed with a radiation source at the Curie Institue in France.

Life is a terminal illness - none of us will get out of here alive, you only have this moment - savor it.