I was surfing around the other day and came across a post where someone was talking about the amount of money that MS generates in a year through drug sales, procedures, equipment, etc (I believe it was in the billions). The implication was that a cure would be bad for business and so you shouldn't count on one. Great attitude, dipshit! I tend to think that they haven't cured it yet BECAUSE IT'S HARD! Conspiracy theories like this have been around for years. I remember hearing 20 years ago that "they" will never cure AIDS because treatment and research generates too much money. I know that it's easy to believe that everyone is against you and there is no hope- and this moronic mindset is sure to perpetuate weakness and self-pity. You've got to be stronger than that. Think about the facts:
There's a pretty big difference between drug discovery and drug development. Drug development happens at the pharmaceutical companies and, yes, their ultimate goal is to make money. There are two main points to consider: 1) do you think one big pharma would hesitate to kill a disease that another big pharma (i.e. a competitor) is treating and making boatloads of money on (rhetorical... work with me)? 2) big pharmas generally develop/sell drugs to treat more than one kind of disease, right? Imagine what curing a disease would do for business...
Unlike drug development, drug discovery usually happens at the academic institutions and is funded with grant money (e.g. from non-profits or NIH). The primary goal of the researchers in these incredibly competitive environments is to PUBLISH. I can guarantee that a cure for a major disease gets a spot in one of the leading journals (like "Nature"). These researchers genuinely want to find a fix for the problem and have no stake in the business side of the disease. There are plenty of people out there that would say the researchers are getting money on the side from the pharmas with an interest, but I can tell you that any good size, reputable institution has strict conflict of interest policies that prohibit and/or manage such potential conflicts, and the feds keep track!
The idea is to discover and patent the idea. The patent can then be licensed to the pharma that wants to produce the drug. There are also those who would say that the drug companies are so big that they will just buy the license and not use it (i.e. squash the drug). How long do you think that would last? Researchers HAVE to publish at which time... it's out there. A drug company might be able to suppress a toothache salve, but not likely a cure. Once that paper is published and word gets out, it's all over the news and patients are knocking down their door.
This is just my opinion and, as always, you're welcome to your own (even though it's wrong). The bigger picture here is that continuing to believe that everyone is against you and they'll never find a cure is stupid. It perpetuates you feeling sorry for yourself and is unhealthy (and stupid!). Your NEW life is a little more work than your old life... deal with it. That's not going to change without some big breakthrough, so don't sit around waiting for someone to rescue you. I keep saying it and I'm not going to stop anytime soon: You've been dealt a hand - you have to play it. It's your choice if you want to fold, but I'm going all in.
I agree with you Johnny. I have Lupus (uncontrolled thus far). The first year I felt like giving up and then decided to simply make a big deal about the days that I feel good and forget about the regular days of feeling bad. You said it perfectly when you said you have to play the hand you've been dealt and that is so true! Thanks for a great article.
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