The steady 'progress' is not what it seems. Improved and earlier detection of cancer means that a patient will survive for significantly longer after the detection past the 5 year mark. Several decades ago the patient would die relatively quickly between the period of detection and within the 5 year period.
As one of the posters ( reasonattlm )pointed out,cancer can be regarded as one of the diseases of aging. To kill cancer cells will not improve things beyond a point because the body will produce more. I would speculate if detection methods we sufficiently sensitive, we would _all_ have some cancer cells within us. It is a matter of degree.
Summary: Except of a few types of cancer, the treatment has not improved the outcome for cancer patience during the past few decades. Also remember: lies, damn lies and statistics.
My sources: A non-mainstream cancer doctor ( but is a conventional MD ) who was widely regarded as a quack, by the mainstream medical community. Heresy is not tolerated well.
