Line #80 Main/CureForCancer


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11	[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/PennyArcade https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cancercure2.jpg]]]]
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14	-> '''Marcus:''' Curing cancer, Mr. Wyndam-Pryce? \
15	'''Wesley:''' Wouldn't be cost-effective. I'm sure we make a lot from cancer. \
16	'''Marcus:''' Yes, the patent holder is a client.
17	-->-- ''Series/{{Angel}}'', "[[Recap/AngelS05E19TimeBomb Time Bomb]]"
18
19	A specific type of MacGuffin, the Cure for Cancer is something like a modern-day ''panacea''. It is the ultimate medical achievement that everyone is looking for. Some people will want to [[MoneyDearBoy sell it]], some will want to [[InformationWantsToBeFree spread it for free]], and some will want to [[WithholdingTheCure destroy it]]. Or it may be a plot point to get it JustInTime to the LittlestCancerPatient.
20
21	For some reason (half FantasticAesop and half StatusQuoIsGod), the cure often has some horrific side effect -- it [[Film/IAmLegend causes zombies]], [[HumanResources is made from people]], or what have you. Often combined with WithholdingTheCure.
22
23	Note that the reason we don't have this in RealLife (and the reason it is so sought-after) is that "cancer" is an extremely general term for any number of diseases. Some of them ''have'' had cures discovered (or at least effective long-term treatments, or preventative vaccinations), but no miracle cure for the whole lot is forthcoming, and it's quite probable that we will never find one.
24
25	Minor variations include cures for other terminal, incurable diseases, such as Parkinson's and AIDS. As these are becoming more treatable, however, miracle cures for them are showing up less in fiction.
26
27	Compare SavedByThePhlebotinum.
28
29	----
30	!!Examples:
31
32	[[foldercontrol]]
33
34	[[folder:Audio Play]]
35	* ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho''. In ''I, Davros'' there's an offhand mention of the title character inventing the cure for cancer, but he's only reprimanded for wasting time and resources when he should be inventing weapons to be used against the Thals--this is in a nuclear war where radiation poisoning is rife. Davros is unimpressed with the short-sightedness of the Kaled leadership.
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:Comic Books]]
39	* ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'': Subverted in one issue, in which a character clarifies at a news conference that [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist The Engineer]] hasn't "cured cancer"; she's merely come up with a revolutionary new treatment for the most common form of leukemia.
40	* ''ComicBook/BlackPanther'': Wakanda has had a cure for cancer for centuries, but they [[ReedRichardsIsUseless refuse to share it with the rest of the world]] [[CulturalPosturing because nowhere else deserves it]].
41	** Note that this is part of [[RunningTheAsylum a particular writer's run]] that may not be canonical as it contradicts many already established Franchise/MarvelUniverse facts.
42	* ''ComicBook/BlackScience'': Mr. Block exhibits a medical device he claims as this for his investor meeting. It's the centerpiece of his successful forays stealing technology from other dimensions.
43	* ''ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel\|MarvelComics}}'': In ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfCaptainMarvel'', all the genius scientist superheroes work together to find a cure for the dying captain's cancer. Which does bring up the question of why they didn't do that years before instead of spending their time beating up bank robbers. More annoyingly, because ReedRichardsIsUseless, the cures they ''did'' find, but wouldn't work on Mar-Vell because of his powers, are never released to the general public (as seen by the Marvel writers never mentioning them again).
44	** Another storyline, ''ComicBook/TheThanosImperative'', involves "The Cancerverse" -- an AlternateUniverse where Captain Marvel's life ''was'' saved... by ''[[TheDeathOfDeath killing Death]]''. It turned ''all'' life in the universe into immortal, cancerous beings. [[GoneHorriblyRight The cure was worse than the disease]] indeed...
45	** A ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' where they cure Captain Marvel results in him becoming the cancer-spreading equivalent of Typhoid Mary, which spreads cancer throughout the galactic community, ends up killing the Thing, and results in him and his love interest being sent to a timeless empty dimension for eternity as they apparently can't find a way to cure the cure.
46	* ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'': Deadpool signed on with the Weapon X program because they promised they could cure his cancer. They ended up giving him a HealingFactor... that ''merged with the cancer'' and rendered him both nearly-indestructible and ''absolutely hideous''.
47	** During the ''ComicBook/DarkReign'' storyline, [[Characters/MarvelComicsNormanOsborn Norman Osborn]] invents a cure for cancer... and immediately weaponizes it in order to try to kill Deadpool (who has major blackmail material on him) since without his cancer, Deadpool's HealingFactor would go out of control and kill him.
48	* ''ComicBook/DoctorStrange'': The plot of ''ComicBook/DoctorStrangeTheOath'' revolves around "Otkid's Elixir", a magic potion which Doc hopes will cure his manservant Wong's brain tumor. [[spoiler:The ethical dilemma comes when Doc discovers that the elixir isn't just a cure for cancer, it's a cure for ''everything''.]] Naturally, a corrupt pharmaceuticals company bent on WithholdingTheCure interferes with him every step of the way.
49	* ''ComicBook/NewXMenAcademyX'': Prodigy is shown a vision of what would happen if he has the mental block preventing him from permanently gaining the knowledge he absorbs removed. The first thing he does after he leaves the school is work with his old roommate, Elixir, and he creates a cure for both cancer and AIDS (with the promise of curing every major disease on the planet) [[InformationWantsToBeFree that he distributes around the world for free]]... at the cost of Elixir's life, since Prodigy created the cure by [[TheyWouldCutYouUp cutting his friend up too much]].
50	* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'':
51	** The villains Styx and Stone are a result of this. Stone was trying to create a vaccine against cancer, and Styx was his test subject. The result is that Styx is now a walking cancer, "rotting" people with a touch. Worse, it literally gives him pleasure (heavily implied to be orgasmic) to do so.
52	** In ''ComicBook/SpiderManAndTheXMen'' #2, Spidey notes that the LegoGenetics technology that Sauron has [[YouCouldHaveUsedYourPowersForGood could easily be used to cure cancer]], considering it manipulates genetics on a whim on a wide swath of people. However, Sauron has only one thing on his mind, and [[DefiedTrope doesn't feel like it]].
53	-->'''Spider-Man:''' You can rewrite DNA on the fly, and you're using it [[ForcedTransformation to turn people into]] ''dinosaurs''? But with tech like that, you could cure ''cancer''!\
54	'''Sauron:''' But I don't ''want'' to cure cancer. I want to turn people into dinosaurs.
55	* ''ComicBook/SquadronSupreme'': Tom Thumb travels to the future to steal the Scarlet Centurion's Panacea Potion (which can supposedly cure anything) to cure his cancer. However, Thumb discovered that the Potion consisted of no more than penicillin and a few complex vitamins; it worked with the people of the Centurion's time since over the many centuries the human species' immune systems had been improved through eugenics, but it was ineffective with people of the Twentieth Century.
56	* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'':
57	** There's a WhatIf story in which [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Lex Luthor]] apparently goes straight and starts using his brain for good, and he finds a cure for cancer.
58	** ''ComicBook/SupermanRedSon'': After Luthor takes over, he makes the world into a {{Utopia}}. This includes not only a cure for cancer, AIDS, and all other forms of genetic disease, he even cures ''sleep''.
59	* ''ComicBook/{{Transmetropolitan}}'': Spider keeps a bag of anti-cancer genes in his bathroom. Comes in handy with all the cigarettes and other assorted drugs he and his filthy assistants and mutant cat take.
60	* ''ComicBook/{{Venom}}'': the Venom symbiote feeds off of Eddie Brock's cancer when they're joined, keeping it at bay. After losing the symbiote, Brock encounters Martin Li, the good half of the supervillain Mister Negative, and Li's HealingHands cures Brock's cancer permanently... which the side-effect of turning him into Anti-Venom. Something to do with his white blood cells and remnants of the symbiote. It's a comic book, just roll with it.
61	* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol. 1]]: In #17 Dr. Lana Kurree creates a "cancer cure" called Plasmin. It is not treated as a cure all, just a very effective treatment that her boyfriend is trying to steal the patent for.
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:FanFic]]
65	* ''Fanfic/ADarkerPath'': Alice is startled when Atropos suggests that she might be capable of building an exotic "bomb" to kill cancer cells. After thinking about it, though, she decides that she probably ''could'', with some research and testing, build a bomb that would kill cancer and nothing else. However, that would leave holes in the patient's body, filled with whatever slurry or other material the cancer cells turned into. [[spoiler:Director Piggot suggests that it could still be useful for eradicating traces after surgically removing the main tumour, and schedules some time for her to work with Miss Medic.]]
66	* ''Fanfic/EscapeFromTheMoon'': In the later sequel ''Scavenge for the Future'', Spliced Genome is able to fix Aerostorm's lung cancer just by sending a magical pulse through her and harmlessly pulling all the cancer cells out, then disintegrating them.
67	* Much like everything else, parodied in ''FanFic/IAmNotGoingThroughPubertyAgain''. The WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue mentions that Orochimaru discovered such a cure...except it only worked on sharks and turned them into "flying, amphibious hellbeasts". He was promptly barred from practicing medicine. As for the sharks, Kisame took custody and used them to start a circus.
68	* PlayedForDrama in ''FanFic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace''. Dr. Cossack's wife died of cancer prior to the start of the story and his grief drove him to try and find a cure to prevent others from suffering from it. But his devotion caused him to unintentionally neglect Kalinka and not realize how she needed help with her grieving, eventually resulting in her attempting suicide.
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
72	* Near the beginning of the animated ''WesternAnimation/SupermanDoomsday'' film, Superman is shown hanging out in the Fortress of Solitude trying to find a cure for cancer. Unfortunately, he can never quite get it, and he [[LampshadeHanging wonders aloud]] how he can build a robot that can see the future [[ReedRichardsIsUseless but fail at curing a regular human disease]].
73	** Meanwhile, Lex Luthor hasn't cured cancer yet, but he has cured muscular dystrophy and is also working on AIDS and bird flu. He plans to reduce the cure's potency and turn it into a lifetime treatment for perennial income.
74	[[/folder]]
75
76	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
77	* In ''Film/{{Daybreakers}}'', when a human is turned into a vampire, it cures all of their ailments, including cancer. It also freezes their bodies at the age they were when they turned. Too bad they can only drink human blood which is in very short supply. [[spoiler:That is, until a working substitute is found near the end.]]
78	* The scientists in ''Film/DeepBlueSea'' are growing giant [[UpliftedAnimal super-smart sharks]] to harvest chemicals from the sharks' brains that can be used to cure Alzheimer. Unfortunately, the process involved [[TooDumbToLive GROWING GIANT SUPER SMART SHARKS]]!
79	* The machines that ''Film/{{Elysium}}'' makes use of are manufactured by a MegaCorp known as Armadyne. They are known as the Med-Pod 3000, and they'll cure anything from crow's feet to cancer. All it takes is a simple scan and brief surgery. Max [=DaCosta=] is trying to get to Elysium because he is dying from extreme radiation exposure, and using a Med-Pod would save his life. Frey, his childhood friend, is also desperate to get to Elysium because her daughter is dying of leukemia.
80	* In ''Film/IAmLegend'', scientists genetically modified the Measles virus in order to create a cure for cancer. Unfortunately, it mutated and one of the side effects was a [[ZombieApocalypse Vampire Apocalypse]].
81	* The zombies in ''Film/IEatYourSkin'' were created during an attempt to find this. [[spoiler:As Dr. August Biladeau explains while dying, he was getting nowhere with the injections of the animals, so he started using the natives as human guinea pigs. However, instead of getting closer to a cure for cancer, the bombarded snake venom was sending up a curious reaction into the body tissues, making the subject devoid of will; a human vegetable. Three natives died because of Biladeau's futile attempts. When Dr. Bentley found the results of Biladeau's experiments, Bentley became obsessed with the idea of creating an army of the undead and threatened to expose Biladeau to the authorities unless he helped him with his mad scheme.]]
82	* This is Dr. Phillips' dream in ''Film/IslandOfTerror''. Unfortunately, he is presented as careless and impatient, leading to his efforts accidentally creating a race of bone-eating monsters.
83	* In ''Film/TheManWithNineLives'', Dr. Mason's freezing therapy is being touted as potential cure for cancer. When the hospital forces a temporary halt to his experiments, he goes in search of the lost notes of Dr. Kravaal--the doctor who pioneered the therapy--in hopes of finding the missing component to guarantee success.
84	* ''Film/MedicineMan''. Dr. Robert Campbell (Sean Connery) discovers a cure for cancer and then loses it.
85	* ''Film/{{Mimic}}'' puts a bit of a twist on this trope in that in order to stop an epidemic affecting the children of New York City, they don't engineer the giant mutant killer bugs to manufacture a direct cure, but because the Judas Breed specifically feed on cockroaches, the disease's carriers. They just become [[ToServeMan anthropophages]] after devouring the entire cockroach population.
86	* In ''Film/TheMonsterMaker'', Dr. Markoff has developed both a means of infecting people with acromegaly (a condition usually caused by a defective pituitary gland and having no known cure) and a cure for it. He plans to use the serums in a PoisonAndCureGambit.
87	* The T-Virus in the ''Film/ResidentEvilFilmSeries'' was created to fix nerve damage, regenerate limbs and cure diseases. Unfortunately, it worked a little too ''well'', causing those infected to continue moving [[ZombieApocalypse long after death]].
88	* In ''Film/RiseOfThePlanetOfTheApes'' they're growing [[UpliftedAnimal super-smart apes]] as test subjects to find a cure for Alzheimer's, only to find that their latest drug 1) [[spoiler:kills humans]] and 2) [[spoiler:MAKES APES EVEN MORE SUPER SMART]]!
89	* ''Film/SharkAttack'': Miles has been injecting the sharks with hormones so he can later harvest them for a cancer cure. He demonstrates this when he takes the hero to a [[LittlestCancerPatient young African boy]] who would have died if not for his cure. Steven calls him out for his breach of ethics by going to a developing country to test experimental drugs on children, and it later turns out that there's problems with the drug anyway.
90	* The MadScientist villain in ''Film/SpidersIIBreedingGround'' had a similar plan, breeding {{Giant Spider}}s on a seaborn vessel so he could study their immune system and use it to improve humanity. Where to start with the HollywoodScience on that one...
91	[[/folder]]
92
93	[[folder:Literature]]
94	* In the Creator/NeilGaiman short story "Changes", a cure for ''almost'' all forms of cancer known as "rebooting" is developed, which, while it cures any case of cancer overnight, also has the [[SideEffectsInclude minor side effect]] of switching the patient's biological sex... [[EasySexChange until they take another dose, anyway]]. The ''intended'' use for the drug barely merits a mention after its creator realizes what happened to the first patient it's tested on.
95	* In the novel ''Literature/TheChildGarden'' by Geoff Ryman, cancer is eradicated -- and it's discovered, too late, that it was the downside of an important part of the metabolism, which has also been eradicated in the process, drastically reducing human lifespan.
96	* {{Downplayed\|Trope}} in ''Literature/TheExpanse''; after Holden sustains a massive dose of radiation, he has to take anti-cancer pills daily for the rest of his life. It also turns out that they're [[spoiler:very effective at killing an alien algae that colonizes human eyeballs]].
97	* In the satirical book ''Looking Backwards at the '80s'' (written in 1979), it's discovered that clubbing baby harp seals to death causes their brains to release a chemical that cures cancer.
98	* In ''Literature/NeverLetMeGo'' by Kazuo Ishiguro, [[spoiler:the main characters are clones created to be used as [[WalkingTransplant unlimited organ donors]] for the cure for cancer]].
99	* 'Cancer cure = zombies' also appears in the ''Literature/{{Newsflesh}}'' series. In that case, it was accidentally combined with another genetically-engineered virus designed to cure the common cold.
100	* In Creator/OctaviaButler's ''Literature/ParableOfTheSower'', a cure was made for Alzheimer's. Unfortunately, people without the disease started abusing it because of the enhanced mind capabilities that it gave them, and this led to [[BizarreBabyBoom a generation of children]] with a disease called hyperempathy syndrome, in which they [[TheEmpath feel the perceived emotions of others]].
101	* This is a plot point in the earliest issues of ''Literature/PerryRhodan''. One important reason the HumanAliens stranded on the moon are even willing to consider working together with the primitive humans who've only just managed to land there themselves is because Earth medicine has recently developed a cure for the disease that threatens the life of the alien expedition's scientific leader -- a form of leukemia.
102	* ''Literature/TheSuccessionDuology'' mentions at one point that every time the main gun is fired, the crew develop "the simplest and most easily cured cancers" as a side effect.
103	[[/folder]]
104
105	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
106	* In one episode of ''Series/SevenDays1998'', the cure for cancer mutates into a plague that wipes out all life on Earth.
107	* The (initial) plot of ''Series/{{Crusade}}'' revolved around a search for a cure for an alien plague.
108	* ''Series/{{Eureka}}'': It's mentioned in one episode that the town has cures for the common cold, male pattern baldness, and a few other small but annoying diseases.
109	-->'''Clerk:''' Still too expensive for mass production, but living in Eureka does have its perks.
110	* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'':
111	** In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S1E4BloodBrothers Blood Brothers]]", a scientist tries to develop an effective KnockoutGas to be used by the riot police. However, despite the numerous trials, the gas still has a 20% lethality rate. One experiment results in the test monkey not only surviving but also becoming immune to any and all disease or poison. The scientist's CorruptCorporateExecutive brother wants to [[WithholdingTheCure withhold this cure-all]] from the general population, pointing out that this would result in overpopulation. However, he uses the drug himself to cure his hereditary condition. [[spoiler:In the end, though, it's revealed that the drug's effect is extremely temporary. In fact, it rapidly drains all the body's resources, leaving the person a frail shell only surviving through the use of life-sustaining machines.]]
112	** "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S1E15TheNewBreed The New Breed]]" involves the use of [[{{Nanomachines}} nanites]] to monitor and repair cells. However, their "repair" feature doesn't appear to have a limit, and they start [[HarmfulHealing improving what they see as flaws of the human body]]. The person who injects himself with them tests his ability to hold his breath underwater... and the nanites end up giving him gills. Eventually, he also gets eyes on the back of his head to improve his vision. In the end, the inventor of the nanites, his friend, ends up having to kill him. It should be noted that the nanites are still in the testing phase, and the guy only takes them because he has terminal cancer.
113	** In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S1E16TheVoyageHome The Voyage Home]]", the alien in the form of Pete Claridge tells Ed Barkley that it will give humanity the cure for cancer once it arrives on Earth.
114	* ''Series/StargateSG1'':
115	** The Goa'uld symbiote can cure cancer, among other diseases. Jacob Carter became a Tok'ra host for this reason.
116	** Tretonin does the same thing, though the original recipe for it used defective symbiotes so it wasn't as effective as it could have been. Also, if people ever stopped taking it (and the planet in question was running out quickly), they would die.
117	** While the formula for Tretonin was later altered to allow the people of Pangara to safely come off the drug and/or make it less addictive, Jaffa who switched to Tretonin to free themselves from their reliance on Goa'uld symbiotes, end up dependent on taking the drug to maintain their immune system.
118	* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
119	** Within 50 years of [[Film/StarTrekFirstContact First Contact]] with the Vulcans, a human scientist discovered a cure for most forms of cancer. As a result by the time ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' takes place, previously deadly cancers like lung cancer are easily treatable in humans.
120	* A throw-away line in ''Series/TimeTrax'' mentions that cancer has been cured between the 20th and the 22nd centuries.
121	* In ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'', there's a drug called "Reset" which "restores the human body to its factory settings". It can cure cancer, AIDS, diabetes, pretty much everything... but then you die from a parasitic infection.
122	* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S3E32TheGift The Gift]]", an alien comes to Earth, landing near a small Mexican town. The Mexicans distrust him, and eventually kill him, but not before he tries to give them a gift written on a piece of paper, which they burn. The town doctor who sees this happen but is held back from doing anything grabs the paper and puts the fire out, then reads the inscription out loud:
123	-->"To the people of Earth. As a gesture of our goodwill, here is the formula for curing all forms of cancer." [[ConvenientlyInterruptedDocument The rest is burned]].
124	[[/folder]]
125
126	[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
127	* In the 4/17/11 installment of ''ComicStrip/{{Curtis}}'', a cure for cancer is found in the [[ShowWithinAShow Film Within a Strip]] "The Clam". Unfortunately, the scientist who discovers it turns into a giant clam before he can tell anyone.
128	* A ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'' strip involves Paige dreaming of herself as a doctor and coming up with this, as well as [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking an AIDS vaccine and a hiccup cure]].
129	[[/folder]]
130
131	[[folder:Radio]]
132	* ''[[Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook That Mitchell and Webb Sound]]'': Discussed at length in one sketch, with a man who managed to single-handedly invent a mass cure for all cancer, in the form of a simple series of pills, just so that cancer-support charities would stop bothering him. He ends up getting bothered by heart disease charities instead.
133	[[/folder]]
134
135	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
136	* In ''TabletopGame/{{Chrononauts}}'', you can time-travel to The Future and grab it, either as part of a victory condition or to trade in for some other bonus.
137	* In ''TabletopGame/SentinelsOfTheMultiverse'', Dr. Meredith Stinson aka Tachyon has both invented (or, at least, helped invent) a cure for cancer and released it to the public.
138	[[/folder]]
139
140	[[folder:Theatre]]
141	* In ''Theatre/TheWaitingRoom'', the never-seen Dr. Carson from Jamaica is rumored to have developed a serum that can cure cancer, but Larry, a CorruptCorporateExecutive at a pharmaceutical company, arranges to [[WithholdingTheCure prevent the serum from being brought to the U.S.]] so that his company's cancer-treatment drugs will go unchallenged.
142	[[/folder]]
143
144	[[folder:Video Games]]
145	* In some installments of the ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' series, "Cure for Cancer" is a "wonder of the world" that a civilization is able to build.
146	* In ''VideoGame/{{Judgment}}'', it's eventually revealed that the various murders that the protagonist is investigating are all part of a government conspiracy involving an experimental cure for Alzheimer's Disease. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, said experimental cure is completely lethal to humans and the murder victims involved are all either failed test subjects or killed to cover up the conspiracy.]]
147	* ''VideoGame/TheMatrixPathOfNeo'' has a Chinese herbalist who tries to make a cure for an unnamed terminal illness... for his young granddaughter. A shot at the end of the level shows the front page of a newspaper that reads, 'Miracle cure heals girl'.
148	* At the beginning of ''VideoGame/SaintsRowIV'', you are presented with the choice of passing a bill to cure cancer or ending world hunger. Your decision doesn't matter since Earth is soon subject to an alien invasion and blown up shortly thereafter.
149	* ''VideoGame/Wasteland2'' has you search for a cure for lung cancer for a minor character. Unlike most examples on the list, finding the cure is treated like any other FetchQuest, and only has tangential bearing on the main plot.
150	* ''VideoGame/XCOM2'' has Advent gene therapy clinics in the various city centers that have cured many of humanity's ills, such as malaria, AIDS, and yes, cancer. Of course, this being ''XCOM'', Advent requires citizenship and implanted brain chips of those receiving these services. And of course, humans at these clinics are frequently kidnapped and murdered in gene experiments so the Advent rulers can find a cure for ''their'' cancer [[spoiler:by cloning new superhuman bodies to possess]].
151	[[/folder]]
152
153	[[folder:Web Animation]]
154	* In ''WebAnimation/CampCamp'''s HalloweenEpisode, the kids need cold medicine, so they try to find some in the lab on Spooky Island. There, Space Kid finds a box labeled "Campbell Corp. Cure for Cancer!" and [[WorthlessYellowRocks tosses it aside]], though since the box had a fine print saying "Warning: Extremely Toxic. Do Not Consume.", it wouldn't have done people any good anyway.
155	[[/folder]]
156
157	[[folder:Webcomics]]
158	* In ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'', Dracula discovered the cure for cancer and hid it on Mars.
159	-->'''Dracula:''' It's really funny, when you figure it out it's going to seem so obvious. But I don't want to give it away. It'll be really funny.
160	* ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'': While pilfering a closet of pharmaceuticals, Sam dismisses several bottles of "over-the-counter cancer cures" and "cheap life extension pills" [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1700/fc01603.htm as worthless]].
161	* ''Webcomic/KeychainOfCreation'' (an ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' webcomic) has two demigods traveling Creation undercover.
162	-->'''Marena:''' That means no curing cancer willy-nilly.\
163	'''Misho:''' Oh, but it's so easy once you know how to do it!\
164	'''Marena:''' It's still not [[SchizoTech period]], mister.
165	* Played with, in a way, in the nondescript spacefuture of ''WebComic/ManlyGuysDoingManlyThings'', in which they don't find a ''cure'' for cancer, but they manage to form a ''symbiotic'' relationship with cancer, and it becomes more of a healing factor than a disease.
166	* A ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' [[https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2021/09/10/ strip]] shows a WhatIf scenario where Tycho cures cancer as a result of not becoming friends with Gabe.
167	* ''Webcomic/{{PHD}}'', "[[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1162 Tales from the MD Anderson Cancer Research Center]]", which is mostly about debunking the idea that that there is one singular cure for cancer.
168	* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': This role is played by the cure for [[ThePlague the Rash]], the disease that caused TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt ninety years ago, as far as humanity's survivors are concerned. One of the comic's plotlines involves the main cast finding a lead toward a cure discovered JustBeforeTheEnd in the ForbiddenZone that they are exploring. It ticks the strange side effect box as [[spoiler:it works, but also causes slow and irreversible brain death. The story gives every hint of the side effect actually being a type of soul-displacement that went under the radar due to the utter lack of mages at the time.]]
169	* ''Webcomic/Trevor2020'': Dr. Maddison had been trying new, experimental treatments on terminally ill patients, and by the time the new members of the medical team were brought on, Trevor’s leukemia [[spoiler:had been long gone]]. [[FromBadToWorse However, things only got worse from there]].
170	-->'''Enid:''' In its place [[BodyHorror was something incredible]].
171	[[/folder]]
172
173	[[folder:Web Original]]
174	* According to ''Website/ChuckNorrisFacts'', [[MemeticBadass his tears can cure cancer]]. [[ReedRichardsIsUseless It's too bad that he]] [[MenDontCry never cries, ever]].
175	* ''Website/SCPFoundation'':
176	** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-500 SCP-500]] consists of a number of small pills that will cure absolutely any disease (including some of the really creepy supernatural diseases the Foundation has stored) with no chance of relapse or side effects. The only problem is that there aren't very many of them, and no one has any idea where they came from or how to make more. It was found, however, that using [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-038 SCP-038]] to clone the pills resulted in pills that work 30% of the time with no damage to the original pill. Not perfect, but far better than nothing. Unfortunately, the cloned pills deteriorate quickly, so marketing them is impossible, but at least Foundation members don't have to worry about diseases.
177	** [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1300 SCP-1300]] can remove the majority of tumors and inject a fluid that replaces the function of any damaged organs, and the foundation does occasionally allow terminal cancer patients to use it, but it sometimes decides to liquify a patient instead of healing them.
178	* A vingiette in ''Blog/HowToWriteBadlyWell'' has a MadScientist work on a cure for cancer for the decidedly ignoble goal of putting a charity out of business and ensuring he won't have to read any more survivor sob-stories.
179	[[/folder]]
180
181	[[folder:Western Animation]]
182	* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': The episode "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS11E3TheOldManAndTheBigC The Old Man and the Big 'C']]" is about Stewie and Brian discovering that Carter Pewterschmidt is [[WithholdingTheCure withholding a cure for cancer]], because he makes more money from the medical expenses of treating cancer patients.
183	* ''WesternAnimation/MenInBlackTheSeries'': One of the pieces of ImportedAlienPhlebotinum MIB has is the cure for the common cold. When Jay says he thought it didn't exist, Elle says that it does, it's just "not common". Apparently, it's just a pill you take once.
184	* The Bakshi ''WesternAnimation/MightyMouse'' episode "Don't Touch That Dial" features a Rocky and Bullwinkle spoof ("Rocky and Hoodwinkle"). It opens with the narrator noting that Hoodwinkle was working on a cure for cancer.
185	-->'''Narrator:''' Hoodwinkle the none-too-bright moose was whipping up a formula that would eliminate the nation's number one affliction...\
186	'''Hoodwinkle:''' At last...a cure for loud Hawaiian shirts!
187	* A ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' sketch with the ''Franchise/{{Popeye}}'' gang had a guardian angel show Wimpy [[ItsAWonderfulPlot a world where he never lived]] a la ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'' -- except that it was a virtual paradise where a cure for cancer had been found... by Alice the Goon!
188	* PlayedForLaughs in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', where the cure for AIDS turns out to be injecting large amounts of finely shredded [[CastFromMoney cash money]] into the bloodstream.
189	[[/folder]]
190
191	[[folder:Real Life]]
192	* Gleevec, Taxol, Cannabinoids. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HU-331 No, really,]] and etc, etc.
193	* {{Antimatter}}. [[http://cds.cern.ch/journal/CERNBulletin/2006/46/News%20Articles/995642?ln=en No, really.]]
194	* Surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy are actually rather efficient assuming the disease was identified at an early stage.
195	** The simple expedient of directly injecting a tumor with chemotherapy drugs to ensure that the tumor gets the lion's share shows much greater promise than general injection of the drugs. For some reason, this wasn't thought of until ~2008.
196	* Experimental therapies showing promise include engineered {{nano\|machines}}bodies which attach specifically to cancerous cells and either deliver apoptosis-inducing chemicals without harming the healthy tissue or simply allow the body's immune system to recognize cancer as a hostile entity. This kind of therapy requires custom-tailored nanobodies made specifically to match the type of cancerous cells manifest in a patient. As advances in cheaply and efficiently sequencing human genomes make the procedure of recognizing cancerous mutations simpler, it is quite probable that personalized medicine will be the key to defeating cancer on a case-by-case basis.
197	* Several drugs are really effective at certain types of cancer. One drug reduced the size and amount of tumors in half in three days! Problem is that it was only for a specific type of melanoma.
198	* Disabling the Cancer Cell's [[http://www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/blocking-don-t-eat-me-signal-on-cancer-cells-lets-phagocytes-clean-up/81246548/ Do Not Eat]] signal is also possible.
199	[[/folder]]

Context Main / CureForCancer