Wojtek, with all due respect, this is a really lame response.
[WS:] Perhaps, but not more so than this whole discussion. Trying to judge merits of modern medicine by selectively focusing on one or two areas (such as cancer) that are by nature very difficult to treat and the progress is not that spectacular, while ignoring many other areas where substantial advancements have been made is a pretty lame form of critique.
This is not to say that modern science and medicine are beyond critique. This is to say that I am highly suspicious of intellectuals who glorify poverty and simplicity of the unspoiled by civilization life.
Wojtek