He Was Called Foolish for His Research; Now Documentary Tells How He Won Nobel Prize for ‘Cancer Cure

Jim Allison has been the quiet hero behind some of the most ground-breaking medical research of the last quarter century—but before he won the Nobel prize for his work, he was laboring tirelessly to proves his theories against a skeptical scientific community.

Back in the 90s, Allison was called “foolish” for claiming that the immune system could fight off cancer. Despite being shot down time and time again by medical researchers and pharmaceutical companies, Allison developed the basis for immuno-oncology drugs – also known as “lpi.”

Allison first became inspired to research cancer treatments as a result of his mother passing away after a long and debilitating battle with lymphoma when he was just 11 years old. After his mother’s passing, Allison would go on to lose a brother and two uncles to cancer; and he himself would end up beating cancer three different times.

Yet, Allison spent years pushing his research until it finally came to fruition and became the framework for several cancer treatments that made tumors disappear.

Since their development, lpi cancer treatments have successfully treated over one million people diagnosed worldwide, including the former president Jimmy Carter.

“I didn’t launch this work to try to cure cancer, but once I saw the implications for patients worldwide, I was fiercely determined to build drugs for cancer patients!” said Allison, who is a professor and chair of immunology and executive director of immunotherapy platform at the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas.

As a means of thanking him for his determined efforts, Allison was co-awarded the 2018 Nobel prize for physiology or medicine. More recently, film director Bill Haney released a documentary about Allison last month called Breakthrough – and it has been hailed as a masterpiece since its release.

“I was interested in doing a documentary that united Americans,” said director Bill Haney. “One of the blessings of Jim’s work is there are no Americans—rich, poor, North, South, red, blue—who are pro-cancer. By watching the amazing work of Jim and his team of inspiring collaborators, we can see how to work together for the common good. The scientific revolution that Jim has sparked in immuno-oncology is changing the lives of millions of patients and their families, worldwide.”


https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/he-was-called-foolish-for-his-research-now-documentary-tells-how-he-won-nobel-prize-for-cancer-cure/

Perhaps people thought he was a whackadoodle back in the day? Perhaps they’d read so many articles that they thought he was stupid.

Time will tell whether facts are facts, I guess.

I don't see why he was called foolish, its what your immune system does after all but it has to be able to identify a threat before it goes into action, which with cancer of course is difficult because its your own cells and not 'foreign' invaders.
We help our immune systems to recognise and fight foreign invaders with vaccination, eventually it would do it on its own given enough time but I think viruses tend to invade the bodies cells and become invisible to the immune system, some people recover from viruses with a high mortality rate, some even have an immunity to a disease we've never encountered before, it makes sense there has to be something in this for treating cancer.

Vintage wrote:I don't see why he was called foolish, its what your immune system does after all but it has to be able to identify a threat before it goes into action, which with cancer of course is difficult because its your own cells and not 'foreign' invaders.
We help our immune systems to recognise and fight foreign invaders with vaccination, eventually it would do it on its own given enough time but I think viruses tend to invade the bodies cells and become invisible to the immune system, some people recover from viruses with a high mortality rate, some even have an immunity to a disease we've never encountered before, it makes sense there has to be something in this for treating cancer.

Well said. Have a green thing.

oh thanks

Vintage wrote:oh thanks

No problem. I enjoy your posts. Always well thought-out.

eddie wrote:Perhaps people thought he was a whackadoodle back in the day? Perhaps they’d read so many articles that they thought he was stupid.

Time will tell whether facts are facts, I guess.

Anyone who thinks outside the box gets labelled that. Without people like him, having an open mind and stepping outside that box, steps and advances might never be made. Arrogance and the belief that scientists/doctors know it all needs to be ditched. They don't. And that's been proved throughout history.

HoratioTarr wrote:

eddie wrote:Perhaps people thought he was a whackadoodle back in the day? Perhaps they’d read so many articles that they thought he was stupid.

Time will tell whether facts are facts, I guess.

Anyone who thinks outside the box gets labelled that.    Without people like him, having an open mind and stepping outside that box, steps and advances might never be made.   Arrogance and the belief that scientists/doctors know it all needs to be ditched.  They don't.  And that's been proved throughout history.

Exactly. Exactly. Exactly.
I’d green you thrice, if I could.

So would I !