Personalized Medicine Benefits

The complexity of the human anatomy is what limits us from witnessing what we currently think of as impossibilities. Rather, the lines which currently bound us are genetics; the root of the problem being the human DNA. Not every person with the same disease responds positively to the same treatment because of a genetic difference in their DNA. Hence, if given the proper technology to read a patient’s genetic sequence, doctors can modify a drug specifically to the patient’s needs. The study of personalized medicine can change every treatment into one which works. This removes trial and error from the treatment plan, which in turn reduces the amount of time taken to heal, lowers medical bill costs, and overall improves the quality of life in the future generations of the twenty-first century. Just one gene in a patient’s DNA can be responsible for proving susceptibility to a disease and whether or not if a medicine or treatment
administered will react positively, neutrally, or negatively. A doctor’s goal is to obtain optimum health for their patient by providing a drug that works, but the diversity in patient types hinders the idea of a “one-size-fits-all” drug as obsolete. Personalized medicine can remedy the differences in certain individuals who cannot find relief of their illness by assessing their genetic background, pinpointing the incompatibility to a certain drug, and then tailoring the drug to the individual’s needs.
Through personalized medicine, doctors will be able to greatly cut back treatment length and costs by avoiding the inefficient process of waiting for the effects of a medicine on an individual and then trying different medicines until one works. First, a patient’s DNA is analyzed and then categorized by similar characteristics. Because of this screening, the presence and risk of disease can be found much earlier, meaning it can be treated more successfully or possibly prevented. This will impact the longevity of human life greatly. Imagine the life expectancy to rise and the mortality rate of disease and illness related deaths to decrease. The quality of health will see no boundaries; personalized medicine opens doors for the discovery of new cures. Cancer could possibly be cured by understanding why some people develop cancer and some do not, or why some cancer patients may or may not survive the universal treatment.
The greatest impact on the future generations is whether or not personalized medicine can become accessible to them.
Even well into the twenty-first century, masses of isolated people will be unable to reach it or afford it. As personalized medicine is engineered to work effectively, so is the geographic and economic availability. Ideally, personalized medicine and its benefits will become accessible to anyone in the future.
Healthy generations in the future will depend on the development of new strategies to combat multiple drug resistances. Some contagious viruses have mutated to resist drugs, making fighting against the pathogens with common anti-infective drugs ineffective. Furthermore, by expanding the study of personalized medicine, the dynamics of drug-resistance can be understood. The future of the twenty-first century can only be as positive as its health is, so the need for personalized medicine is high. Thus, the next step in the development in personalized medicine will impact this century greatly, making life
healthier.