Cancer is one of the most complex diseases in the world. Adding to the challenge is the fact there's no sure-fire way of treating it; what works for one doesn't have to necessarily work for the other.
For this reason, many cancer patients are looking into the same animals used by multiple labs for testing and research: lab mice.
These lab mice have already earned the term "mice avatars," as they mirror the patient that is stricken by the disease. These patients approach private labs that offer such service.
The labs then use the mice, letting them carry the same tumor the patient has (using the sample provided by the patient) to see which of the many possible treatments available works the best.
Although many types of cancer these days already have several treatment options, more often than not, they cannot be given simultaneously. Thus, the patient needs to try the one the doctor believes is best. If it doesn't work, then they move on to the others in the list.
The problem with this is that by the time the doctor recommends another form of treatment, the patient may have already been too sick with all the drugs and therapies provided in the first modality.
Many cancer patients also feel overwhelmed and frustrated with the trial-and-error method. By using the lab mice, they may be able to identify which of the possible courses of treatments will work against their tumor or cancer.
While the idea sounds logical and practical, some health experts consider it as experimental as even the mice themselves may not be effective in modelling the patient's sickness. Although some studies have shown that this procedure works, they don't prove mice avatars are better than genetic tests.
The procedure is also costly with patients spending around $10,000 for something that's deemed experimental. Insurance also doesn't cover the process.