Rabbosai, while davening is essential, I feel that in some ways, we could be doing more for cancer patients than we currently do.
The biggest problem in cancer, is that science really does not understand it fully. Some of the most basic things about the disease are not understood. Why do cells go off and reproduce out of control? What factors cause this? How do we target only the bad cells, and leave the good ones alone?
There is a need for much more research. One must realize that many oncologists are merely doing a fixed set of protocols that they have been taught. But the key in eradicating the disease is in identifying and understanding the molecules that are responsible. This requires research. I don’t see that many frum yidden considering research as a career. All advances come from basic research in labs, not from the doctor. He only does what the scientists and FDA have decided is the most effective treatment at the current time. (It is true that there are oncologists who are also researchers, and both see patients and work in labs.)
To say Sloan is bad because it is a research institution is not good advice. In the medical community, it is well-accepted that the best doctors and the best treatments usually are found at research and teaching hospitals. Sloan does a lot to make a patient comfortable, and is extremely well-organized.
To do research requires going to good schools and studying science on a deep level. One needs a good foundation for this. Yeshiva high schools need to fortify their science and math departments, and not suffice with merely being yotzei the minimum requirements. This really is pikuach nefesh, and I can think of no greater chesed than working towards finding cures for people who are suffering.