Scientists and researchers have been increasingly looking to that old adage – Prevention is better than Cure – to battle disease because it’s simpler and more cost-effective to preempt illness than to attempt to cure it. And now they’ve made a remarkable breakthrough in their efforts to find a way to preempt cancer and prevent it from wreaking havoc on your body and causing a painful death. Researchers at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas have found a potential way to target and attack cells that may turn cancerous in future. As of now, two new drugs which have been successfully tested on mice (they kill precancerous polyps) hold much promise in treating humans too, according to the study. When injected into healthy human beings who are at risk for cancer, the new drug identifies cells that show signs of starting the chain of chemical reactions and modifications that make them cancerous. This form of preemptive treatment, if proven efficacious in human beings, will definitely be a most sought after alternative to chemotherapy, the only way we currently know to battle cancer. The problem with chemotherapy is that it kills healthy cells as well and so gives rise to a host of side-effects that are as painful as the tumor. But now, with the advances being made in chemoprevention, it’s safe to say that we’re entering a new era in the treatment of cancer. These new drugs hold much promise, and the research team affirms that even though they may not kill all precancerous cells, they bring down the risk of cancer considerably. By destroying most cells that could turn malignant, they reduce the possibility of full blown cancer and the certainty of a painful death. Survivors of cancer and people who have lost loved ones to the disease know how hard it is to battle this disease physically and mentally because they’ve lived through the harrowing experience. So the news of the invention of a method that could potentially kill cancer-causing cells comes as a welcome relief, one that will hopefully prevent and eliminate the suffering and pain associated with the dreaded disease we call cancer.