The Great Divorce – C. S. Lewis (1952)
There seems to be a time period, as if already allotted to finding the cure to illnesses directly linked to the expanded knowledge of science resulting in cures being discovered, and even in some cases preventatives introduced to eradicate that disease totally.
The early nineteenth century saw the introduction of daily vitamins which helped to reduce scurvy and rickets and many other ailments of the period and by the 1920’s insulin was helping to combat diabetes. In the late 1920’s the first antibiotics were successfully used to treat infections and by the 1950’s anti-histamines were going a long way to combat allergic reactions. Other cures that have been discovered by the advances made in modern science include tetanus, rabies, polio yellow fever, whooping cough, smallpox, diphtheria, malaria, measles, meningitis, and typhoid fever.
As a child in the 1960’s if someone found out that they had cancer (the big C as it was referred to) it was regarded simply as a death sentence. Today, if caught early enough a lot can be cured and there are even trials into preventative medicines.
Science does not however get it all right. The introduction of the drug thalidomide to treat morning sickness in pregnancy resulted in babies being born with terrible deformities. By the mid 1950’s it was widely available in 46 different countries even though there was little research done into the effects on the developing foetus. It was not until 1961 that it was removed from the market. However, since that time it has been discovered that the drug is effective in treating some cancers and leprosy and in 1991 it was discovered that it can inhibit certain advances within HIV and Aids.
With the research, the science and the advancement of drugs treatments I fully believe that at some point all diseases will be not just treatable but preventable … if science can get the common man to listen.