What will they think of next?

So Greg was checking out the news on msnbc.com today and as I looked at the computer screen over his shoulder, I saw an article about a new drug being tested in clinical trials for use in the treatment of melanoma, which is one of the deadliest cancers out there. New cancer research always catches my attention since I have so many relatives who have battled various forms of it (most notably breast cancer) and lost. So I made the remark that I would have to check out the article later, and check it out I did.

The new treatment works by activating a person’s immune system to fight the cancer. Some of the side effects can be nasty, such as autoimmune disorders, but it also lacks traditional chemotherapy side effects like nausea and hair loss, at least according to the article I read. By the time I got around to checking it out, there was also an analysis article up that I looked at as well. While it really only worked for 20-30% of patients who received it, the effects were dramatically better than other options for late-stage melanoma and the drug has the potential to be useful in fighting other cancers. This news got me particularly excited, since I really worry about getting breast cancer at a young age like my mom did and not living to see my kids grow up.

Anyway, this was such exciting news to me that I just had to share it and I hope if you’ve stumbled into my little corner of the interwebs that you’ll take a minute and check out these two articles. They’re awfully interesting and I can’t wait to see what medical science will come up with next. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this particular drug and its other potential uses.

Twenty days till June 25…