Cancer continues to take a heavy toll of human lives across the world in spite of researchers trying to find a cure for it. The former President of the US Mr. Nixon gave great emphasis on combating the disease. Cancer is comprised of over 200 unique diseases. The US Government has spent several billion dollars to fight cancer. The budget for cancer in 2006 is expected to be at US$ 5.6 billion, without taking into consideration the charitable organizations, pharmaceutical companies, cancer centers, and individual states.
But in spite of all this the causalities due to cancer continue to mount. California alone expects over 54,000 cancer causalities in 2006, with almost 137,000 being diagnosed with the disease in 2006. Even though cancer cuts across social classes and ethnicities, more African-American men are afflicted by this than the white population in the country.The San Gabriel Valley of California has a diverse population, and the Asian population appears to be more prone to liver cancer while gallbladder and stomach cancers are more prevalent among Latino communities. The cancer diagnoses of the county is about 50% higher when compared to the average of the US, which goes to prove that demography plays an important role in cancer. While hepatitis B is reported to be responsible for most of the liver cancer cases in the world, the genetic predisposition of the local Asian population also plays an important role in this. The genetic factor also plays a prominent role in gallbladder cancer.
The Helicobacter pylori bacteria are also reported to be responsible for stomach cancer. The intensive cancer research has resulted in the survival rate rising to 64%. New drugs like Gleevec and Herceptin have also contributed towards this. The suffering and death due to cancer is sought to be eliminated by 2015 by the National Cancer Institute.
