And the winners are:
DJBearGuy and Piano for at least mentioning Immunotherapy.
#9. TRAINING THE BODY TO FIGHT CANCER
What if you could dispense with chemo and radiation and use your immune system to destroy cancer cells? That's the principle behind Provenge, a vaccine used to treat prostate cancer, approved by the FDA last year. The men who used Provenge in studies so far (all of whom had advanced prostate cancer) lived an extra four and a half months, on average - bus some got an extra three years. Equally important, side effects were minimal. The results are imperfect and the cost high - more than $90,000 for a full round of treatment - but Provenge is still a remarkable development, Len Lichtenfeld, MD, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cncer Society, said when the vaccine was approved. The reason: It provides evidence that the immune system can be stimulated to fight cancer. Already the FDA is considering a second cancer-treatment vaccine-this one aimed at a hard-to-treat form of lymphoma.
The other non-PC "medical breakthroughs" making the list:
1. Easier, more effective CPR
2. A better blood thinner(dabigatran)
3. Stem cells to heal hearts
4. Heart repair with barely a cut
5. New help against the deadliest skin cancer (PLX4032)
6. A lifesaving test for lung cancer (low dose CT scan for smokers)
7. Pain relief that has a stunning bonus (adding palliative care to standard treatment lengthened life...)
8. Doing less for breast cancer, benefiting more (3 weeks of radiation regimen can work just as well for women with early-stage breast cancer as one that lasts five)
9. above
10. More caution about tests (limiting CT scans)
11. A deaily pill may prevent cancer (low dose aspirin cut risk of dying of colon cancer by 35%)
12. Keeping deadly germs out of dinner (keeping food safe)
13. Better protection against HIV
14. Saving the brain (gel that lessend the chance of catching HIV up to 54%)
15. A new weapon against an old scourge (new test for TB)
OK, so it's the Reader's Digest...