“In 1964, the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) spent millions of dollars to stop an alternative cancer
treatment which had cured hundreds, if not thousands, of cancer patients”
(Higgins). The well-known administration of the United States, FDA has been
putting restrictions on the use of alternative cancer treatment despite having
a positive effect on the cancer patients. Ever Since, there has been many
conspiracy theories emerging:
- The FDA is hiding the cure of cancer because cancer is a big
business.
- The FDA is approving the use of growth and sex hormones in
the foods we eat which lead to high risk of cancer.
- Big pharmaceutical companies and business are investing
millions of dollars in cancer cure research programs.
Therefore, let’s dive deeper into each conspiracy theory and find
a solution to why the FDA and the government are hiding the cure of cancer from
the society.
According to the Webster Dictionary greed is defined as “a selfish
and excessive desire for more of something (such as money) than is needed”
(Merriam Webster). Greed drives these big pharmaceutical industries to falsely
advertise medication and reveal that patient care is their number one priority
however, they are swept away by the profits they make from their productions
which drives the public to question the industries integrity. The oncology
medication market has been inflating, adding new medications and helping the
overall pharmaceutical industry growth (“Top 10 pharmaceutical companies 2017”
chart 1). In the year of 2017, a ranking was done to score the top 10
pharmaceutical companies through a multivariate scoring system. The oncology
drug market is estimated to be almost $94 billion each year (“Top 10
pharmaceutical companies 2017”).
F. Hoffmann-La Roche Holding AG, one of the top
10 pharmaceutical companies in oncology, is currently composing oncology drugs
(“Top 10 pharmaceutical companies 2017” 1). Roche works as a multinational
company and is divided into two subdivisions: Pharmaceutical and Diagnostics
(“Roche pharmaceutical”, section 1). The pharmaceutical company has shown its
interest in oncology, immunology, ophthalmology, infectious
diseases and neuroscience, which brings them to the net worth of $189.7 billion
(Forbes 1). Roche pharmaceutical claims: “Today, as then, our strategy is
rooted in fostering excellence in science and empowering scientists to create
breakthroughs in life science that will make a difference tomorrow” (“Roche
pharmaceutical”-focus on innovation). However, the National Cancer Institution
has contradicted this. They estimated that in 2018 there will approximately be
1,735,350 new cases of cancer diagnosed in the United States, resulting in the
dead of approximately 609,640 people from this disease. (cancer statistic).
Big pharmaceutical
companies like Roche Holding AG have assets worth of billions of dollars, which
questions their integrity and corrupt the system. Roche is one of the leading
pharmaceutical companies with the world’s largest biotechnology and the world’s
largest provider of cancer amongst the other top pharmaceutical companies
(“Roche Pharmaceutical-business overview”). Many of these companies include,
Novartis, Lilly, Merck, Celgene, who all have over 42,220 million productions
of tests and medications per year. Data shows that the same medication is
produced in loads of amount each year and public invest in these medication,
which bring the pharmaceutical companies money (“Roche in Brief 2017”-Key
figures 2017).
Roche is one of many
pharmaceutical companies that has been ranked at high positions for its
production abilities, employer acceptance rating, high assets rate (Forbes-on
Forbes list). However, why aren’t these pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies
not being ranked based on their service? Why aren’t they ranked based on how
much improvement they have caused in the public? Public opinions and surveys
are very credential in this topic, as well as, how much of an effect is being
done by these medications of cancer treatment. Moreover, it still remains a
mystery if these companies are benefiting from not investing in more cancer
cure research and how much money they are putting in their own pockets.
Roche states that their
strategy is to “find new medications and diagnostics that help patients live
better, live longer and evolve the practice of medicine” (“Roche in brief
2017”-Our strategy). Data shows that the Roche industries are present in 100
countries worldwide. Some of
these countries, states and cities are world’s
leading industrial markets such as Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, Switzerland,
United States, making them Roche’s top locations to produce more medication and
earn more profit. These individual companies in different countries are also
ranked based on the amount of production they have every year, i.e. in 2017 11%
and 4% of
pharmaceutical production was done in Latin
America and Japan respectively (“Roche in brief 2017”-Key growth).
Companies like Roche
produce infinite amounts of medications every year and try to gain the public
trust by showing them their top notched technology used to produce these
medications, how these big production makes them an asset worth of billions of
dollars. Roche is not the only company that advertises themselves in this
manner, other companies such as Novartis and Lilly are on the same track. All
of these resources put together, these companies are ranked based on their
assets and production amount. However, in matters like this public opinions and
data that shows how much of an effect is done on the public through these
companies should be taken into consideration.
Medical
technology has evolved from an X-ray machine as big as a room in 1895 to a
panoramic X-ray machine used in a dental office to get a 360-angle view of your
head and neck. Similarly, in the 1800s farmers used to work their land and grow
cash crops such as corn, tobacco, and wheat. This was all a natural process of
cultivating the land by domestic animals such as cows and horses. Then these
animals were used in livestock to raise money. However, in today’s world,
administrations like the FDA are eager to earn as much money as they can by
populating the natural process of farming and livestock with injecting hormonal
growth in domestic animals and plants (“Hormones in Food: Should You Worry?”).
In this manner, the FDA earns money because of high productivity and gives
cancer a role of business.
The
FDA itself claims that they have approved steroid hormone drugs for the use of
beef that come from cattle and sheep, including estrogen and progesterone which
has increased the animals’ growth and efficiently has given the public more
meat to eat (Center for Veterinary Medicine). According to Dr. Storrs, “In
1993, the FDA approved recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH), a synthetic
cow hormone that spurs milk production when injected into dairy cows, and
consumer groups have been concerned about it ever since (“Hormones in
food-should you worry?”). Dairy livestock aren’t the only prey of these growth
hormones, fish like Salmon are also being injected with these growth hormones, “A salmon that grows the market size twice as fast as
normal. Dairy cows that produce 15 percent more milk. Beef cows that grow 20
percent faster” (1). The FDA has
stamped and approved that these hormones are safe for the public to consume,
however, the FDA’s stamp of approval isn’t likely to assure many of us who
worry if these artificial hormones can lead to higher risks of cancer (Center
for Veterinary Medicine). Estrogen is a female sex hormone and is also known as
human carcinogens (National Cancer Institution). Despite the fact that estrogen
has a physiological function in males and females, it has been identified as a
high risk of cancer when the body has a high level of the hormone (National
Cancer Institution). According to research done by the National Cancer
Institution, “Studies have also shown that a woman’s risk of breast cancer is
related to the estrogen and progesterone made by her ovaries” (1).
The American
Cancer Society guideline on nutrition for cancer prevention has shown that
these food additives are something that should be avoided by high cancer risk
patients (“Food Additives, Safety, and Organic Foods”). In contrast, FDA proves
that they work with the oncology medical staff to approve the drugs and
treatment used on patients is beneficial (Center for Veterinary Medicine). On
the other hand, high cancer risk is feasible by the public through the
artificial sex and growth hormones that are put into the food products
available at any local super market around the United States (Denn, Rebekah).
These food products are what make up our daily intake and are believed to be
nutritionist for our bodies however, including the growth hormones makes them
unhealthy (1). Some of these products include, but not limited to apples,
ground beef, milk, canned tomatoes, and chicken (1). So, how can the FDA say
they are embracing these cancer drugs and treatments that are beneficial to the
public, when they have set out one of the highest risks of getting cancer,
artificial sex and growth hormones, in the public. Some of these products are
foods that we eat in our normal day to day lives. Being the public, are we
supposed to be scared every-time we go grocery shopping and pick up a pack of
beef or vegetables? The organic Consumer Association says that, “beef produced
in the United States is heavily contaminated with natural or synthetic sex
hormones, which are associated with an increased risk of reproductive and
childhood cancers” (“Hormones in U.S. Beef Linked to Increased Cancer Risk.”).
Doctor Samuel Epstein, chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition, spent his
life spreading the awareness of preventing cancer and fighting industries that
put workers and consumers at risk (“Samuel Epstein Leaves Legacy of Cancer
Prevention.”). “Increased levels of sex hormones are linked to the escalating
incidence of reproductive cancers in the United Sates since 1975-60% for
prostate, 59% for testis, and 10% for breast,” said Dr. Epstein (“Hormones in
U.S. Beef Linked to Increased Cancer Risk.”). However, on the controversial
side, the FDA approves all steroid and sex hormone drugs added to cattle,
sheep, and plants to be safe for humans to eat and that the drugs do not harm
the treated animal or the environment (Center for Veterinary Medicine). But in
the case of progesterone and estrogen being present in the body of a women for
too long can lead to high risks of cancer (National Cancer Institution).
Now
the other question is, what happens to all the money that is put into cancer
treatment of patients? As far as we know, the three well know cancer treatment
are 1) chemotherapy, 2) radiation, and 3) surgery to the respective body part
that has the cancer. The cancer treatment industry is thriving right now and by
finding a cure to cancer might bring an end to multiple billion-dollar
companies (attachment 1). These companies are booming with the help of a deadly
illness and making the maximum profit they can by over pricing even the
simplest treatments (attachment 1).
Dr.
Evengelos Michelakis, members of the University of Alberta’s faculty of
medicine, had a research study over a long period of time that got them close
to discovering how cancer cells were formed and how the cell growth can be
prevented or cured (Walia Arjun). “Long after his work was published in the
Journal of Clinical Investigation… the University of Alberta’s research team
still isn’t receiving any support from the medical industry” (1). His work was
also published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), a
branch of National Institutes of Health. National Center for Biotechnology
Information is a resource available to the public that allows them to take a
notice of the what these health companies are keeping data of and allows the
public to have a reliable health information online (“Finding Reliable Health
Information Online.”). Even though Dr. Michelakis work was introduced to the
public and other pharmaceutical companies by a nationally known institution,
they were told to shut down the research because the pharmaceutical sector of
medicine that was responsible for clinical trials wasn’t funded by any research
company or the public (Walia Arjun). So here is the theory again, cancer has
become such a big business that all the treatments done are only because
pharmaceutical companies, research companies are eager to earn money off a
deadly illness.
Moreover,
the FDA is hiding a secret we are all impatient to know, is there a cure for
cancer? The question I asked in my survey was, “do you believe the FDA is
hiding the cure of cancer and why or why not?” 57.87% of college and high
school students said yes because chemotherapy and the cancer industry is
earning billions of dollars through the expensive treatments offered to the
cancer patients. Cancer has ruined many
lives and has become part of many lives in the past years and now is the time
we rise a public and ask the question if there is a existing cure for cancer
that we are not aware of.
After researching evidence on how the FDA and other pharmaceutical
companies enable the public on seeing what they have done to the cancer
industry, three conspiracies remain:
1.
Growth hormones added to the food we eat on a daily are putting us
a high risk of cancer and these avidities are approved by the FDA.
2.
Big pharmaceutical companies and business are investing millions
of dollars in cancer cure research programs.
Even though, doctors like Samuel Epstein tried to start a
revolutionary act against cancer, yet today cancer is the most unfortunate
disease that destroyed the human kind. However, FDA and big
pharmaceutical companies remain as the top most reasons for the hidden cure of
cancer.
Attachment 1
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