Not many people knew what ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) was before, not until several people started an awareness campaign through an ice bucket challenge. This challenge aimed to raise funds for patients with the rare disease. With the help of social media in spreading the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, it helped the funding for research for neurodegenerative diseases as well as cancer treatment.
In a report released by Nature Genetics, a recently discovered gene can answer the missing link regarding the ALS, a neurodegenerative disease.
Now, the main focus is finding the right cure for cancer. However, researchers claim that everything still remains unknown and that the primary concern is eradicating cancer, which has been a long and over due process anywhere.
Many people have died and suffered from this disease. Statistics say 1,500 Americans are dying every minute because of cancer and 14.5 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer every year. According to a report by American Cancer Society, "lost years of life and productivity caused by cancer represent the single largest drain on national economies compared to other causes of death." Cancer is indeed a silent killer.
In Kansas, the American Cancer Society gave 800 rides to treatment for cancer patients, provided 669 cancer patients and caregivers with lodging and helped 303 women manage appearance-related side effects from their cancer in 2014.
Ryan Smith, CEO of Qualtrics, has witnessed how his family member suffered much from cancer, but survived. In his case, it was his father. Upon this incident, he decided to team up with Huntsman Cancer Institute founded by Jon M. Huntsman himself.
Huntsman shared: "Participants donate five dollars in the name of someone who has battled cancer. Then they tag five others and ask them to do the same through a photo or short video. More than $1 million has been raised for cancer research this way."
With stronger faith and hope for finding the right cure for cancer after the success of discovering what's lacking in ALS, Huntsman and his team started their long journey towards discovering the wonders of science.
