[rhondalea]

I think that the individuals who own, invest in and work for big pharma have a big stake in finding a cure. Not just for breast cancer, not just for cancer, but for any prevalent disease. The individuals who do this day after day, along with those who fund them, are well-aware that it could happen to them too.

I'm subscribed to several different medical news services, and it is clear that many treatment options are studied and evaluated daily. It is also clear that an effort is being made to pin down the various causes of deadly diseases.

I'll agree that drug companies are more likely to fund treatments that will return a profit. I've been hearing it for years from my fellow thyroid patients because we don't get any new and better treatments for our stupid, wonky endocrine glands. As a practical matter, though, the only way drug companies can stay in business and continue to do research is to turn a profit.

For potential cures that do not look profitable to the board of directors, it takes a governmental intervention to fund pure science, and we all know where that leads. Tax hikes. Followed by the taxed screaming bloody murder, even though it's likely that many of the objectors will be among those who benefit.

The bottom line is that it isn't the drug companies but the economic model (and in the case of cannibas, the drug laws) that must be blamed. Unfortunately, changing it is right up there with alleviating poverty and achieving world peace.