Question: i have herd that there isnt really a cure for lukimia ? if this is true how come as it is one of the most dangerouse forms of cander isnt it ? the one most people die from how come there isnt a cure for it yet ?

Iain Moal answered on 15 Jun 2010:

Hi Kate.
Leukaemia is the 13th most common cancer in the UK, with about 20 people being diagnosed each day. 5 years afer diagnosis, around 40% of people are still alive. Leukaemia isn’t as common or as dangerous as lung cancer, which is the 2nd most common cancer and has only a 10% 5-year survival rate.

There are cures for some types of leukaemia, such as chronic myelogenous leukemia. However, the reason that we can’t cure other leukaemias is the same reason that we find it hard to cure all cancers. Bacteria, viruses and fungi are easier to kill specifically, because they are very different from human cells. Cancer, on the other hand, comes from human cells, so it is harder to find something that kills cancerous human cells and not healthy human cells.