Cancer Prevention Drugs

I didn't know there were any, did you?
A lot of Contrariennes are around that magic marker age of 60, when the risk of breast cancer increases. A lot.
Did your doctor ever suggest a prevention drug? No, I thought not.
The men in our lives are past 50, the age when prostate cancer becomes more prevalent. Any prevention drug suggested?
Crickets.
And then there's always the disturbing and prevailing mindset that somehow taking a drug is "bad" for you.
I have a friend who's been living with a swollen face all week due to some allergy, she's not sure what.
We talk a little about my experience with allergies. I'm pretty convinced there's something that could reduce the swelling pretty quickly. But she's not going to see a doctor. She likes to rely on her Chinese herbal expert.

Others, like Cecilia Anderson, who is 57 and lives in Houston, worry about side effects. “I felt like my quality of life was in question,” she said. “I am busy, I am out there. I totally love my life and don’t want it to be compromised.” Her lifetime risk of breast cancer is 20.5 percent, compared with an average risk of 9.8 percent for a woman her age. Ms. Anderson declined the drugs. “I live a different lifestyle,” she said. “I eat organic foods, I exercise. Through all of that comes a spiritual element as well. Mind, body, and spirit are all connected.”

The nut here, according to medical sources queried by Gina Kolata at the NYT, is that drug companies aren't going to see much point in researching cancer prevention drugs. There's no market.