Innovation: Cancer and Alzheimer's Disease

Innovation: Cancer and Alzheimer's Diseases
The Triple Solution for a Healthier America is a three-part approach to tackle chronic diseases, promote a healthier life, and lower healthcare costs by focusing on Prevention, Intervention, and Innovation.

Invest in health and save our healthcare.

The Triple Solution for a Healthier America: Using Prevention to reduce chronic disease, promote a healthier life, and lower healthcare costs of diabetes and other chronic diseases The Triple Solution for a Healthier America: Using Intervention to better manage chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, promote a healthier life, and lower healthcare costs. The Triple Solution for a Healthier America: Using Innovation to reduce chronic disease and lower healthcare costs. Learn what you can do to reduce chronic disease, lower healthcare costs, and live a healthier life through personal, professional, and political involvement with the Triple Solution for a Healthier America.

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The third key to lowering healthcare costs is investing in medical research to find new treatments. New treatments will help us fight and, hopefully, prevent chronic diseases now and in the future.

Innovation: Look How Far We’ve Come

One in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes. But there is hope. Newer medications, early and better diagnoses and treatments have raised survival rates by 25% in the last 20 years.

Since 1974, survival rates for cancer have increased:

  • Leukemia: +35%.
  • Colon cancer: +26%.
  • Lung cancer: +15%.
  • Breast cancer: +7%.

Innovation in medical research holds tremendous promise in reducing the rates of some chronic diseases and their associated costs. For example, the recent developments of vaccines to prevent cervical cancer are an exciting step forward.

Innovation Saves Lives.

A number of research projects that hold tremendous potential for a breakthrough in Alzheimer’s Disease are currently underway. Innovation saves lives:

  • Today, Alzheimer’s Disease costs more than $148 billion per year
  • The incidence of Alzheimer’s Disease is expected to triple or quadruple over the next 30 to 40 years.1
  • There are several medicines on the market designed to treat the symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease.
  • Close to 50 new medicines are in clinical development.

Available treatments are limited. No effective way to prevent this disease currently exists. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s disease by just 5 years could reduce the number of people developing it by half.

References:

  1. Alzheimer’s Association. Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures. Chicago: Alzheimer’s Association. Available at http://www.alz.org/national/documents/
    Report_2007FactsAndFigures.pdf. Accessed September 20, 2007.