People Speculate Which Culturally Accepted Things Will Be Horrifying In 100 Years

Medical advances have been impressive as of late.

Imagine the possibilities in the future and how the present will be reflected back upon.

The Treatment Option

"I’m a physician and I have this weird feeling like chemotherapy is going to be looked at as completely barbaric in 100 years. No better option now but my God it’s horrific in principle and in person."

– liketosaysalsa

The Effects Of Chemo

"Immunotherapy seems to be one of the more promising options right now."

"The problem with chemo is that it relies on a simple premise: cancer cells die rather more easily than regular cells. So if we poison the patient, hopefully we can kill off the cancer cells before we kill off the patient. (Incredibly simplified layperson's understanding!)."

"That's why the side effects are so nasty - any chemical that can kill off cells indiscriminately is going to have side effects."

– jimicus

An Inquiry

"If you don't mind, as someone who grew up as chemo being like the #1 only cancer treatment, would you happen to know if there are viable replacements on the way? I was under the impression that they're not but it seems like I'm wrong, which would be great."

– elemonated

The Response

"Cancer is a lot of diseases."

"In one case, a drug that downregulates the product of a bad fusion gene (that's the cause of that particular kind of cancer) is almost 100% effective against that particular kind of cancer."

"In other kinds of cancers, there is more than one kind of problem. DNA gets damaged constantly, but we usually don't get cancer because there are DNA repair mechanisms that usually fix the problem. If your genetics has a less effective gene that participates in DNA repair, then random DNA damage can cause cancer."

"Most cancers manifest as disregulation of some mechanism that doesn't shut down when it is supposed to. Epidermal growth factor, for example, is important for wound healing and just in general replacing cells as they die. But when this is generated without stopping, in the wrong amounts, it participates in proliferation of tissue where it shouldn't - cancer."

"Why do we use radiation with cancer? Its because DNA repair doesn't work as well in cancerous tissue. Radiation kills tissue by causing DNA damage. As I mentioned, one of the causes of cancer is deficits in DNA repair. Cancerous tissue dies more easily than healthy tissue."

"Unfortunately, evolution also works for cancer cells. If the weakest cancer cells die, but a few hardy ones remain, the cancer comes back with more radiation resistant cells. And healthy cells can only take a certain lifetime dose."

– jbsinger

How Far We've Come

"Yeah, like how a few hundred years ago surgical procedures were done without anesthetics and patients were just strapped down so they couldn't thrash around so much. It's horrifying, but at the time the people didn't have another option."

– captaindeadpl

More Poison

"I mean if you told me a few years ago a doctor would tell me I was going to be intentionally given arsenic for several months, I'd have laughed."

– PingEVE

A Bountiful Harvest

"Organ transplant lists. Eventually we will grow the organs in a lab."

– AndHereWeAre_

Public works and services are due for major upgrades.

Commute Nightmares

"High levels of traffic injuries and fatalities."

– zipzap21

Future Convo

"You can just hear the conversation."

"So Grandpa, how did you get around before automated cars?"

"We just, drove them ourselves!"

"Oh, was that safe?"

"Oh, no, millions of people died."

– pueblogreenchile

Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle-

"Waste. So much waste of food, of water, of materials. If we are to make it to space, we’re going to have to get to a point where as much stuff as possible is reclaimed, and it’s gonna start looking real insane to throw out things that could be put through a reclamation service."

– kharmatika

Environment-Unfriendly

"Plastic everywhere."

– TheRealOgMark

"Especially the single use kind. Plastic products existing aren't necessarily a bad thing, but mass producing that will take lifetimes to biodegrade and is expected to be thrown away is one of the most environmentally selfish things we do to our planet."

– rumblemumble46

Annual Upgrade

"Replacing a phone every year.Electronics are not easy to recycle and they use lots of precious resources that we dont have a whole lot of."

– CaptainQuoth

If it's already not considered ghastly, the things we put in our bodies will be viewed as abominable, years from now.

Maybe.

So Sweet

"The high prevalence of sugar in our diets."

– zipzap21

The Savory

"And SALT, holy crap! After finding out I have a heart problem and needing to cut out as much sodium as possible I've found that it's nearly impossible to find low sodium versions of nearly everything I like to eat."

– CatLadyGrip

I sincerely hope breakthrough medical advances will come at a more rapid pace.

As several Redditors pointed out earlier in the thread, chemotherapy is one of few options that patients who are fighting cancer have.

And based on real-life testimonies, it sounds like a necessary, but absolutely horrific, last resort.

Cancer has overstayed its welcome. Hopefully, we won't have to wait 100 years until we can live in a world without it.

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