One aspect of the problem in talking about "cancer" is that we're talking about a large collection of diseases, not a singular disease or phenomenon:

> cancer is actually an umbrella term for scores of different diseases—each with its own unique characteristics and, often, unique treatment needs

https://www.cancercenter.com/community/blog/2023/10/cancer-i...

So every time I read a headline about a new cancer treatment, I think of it as chipping away at one small rock in a giant field of rocks that we're trying to turn into dust. The university "public affairs" (PR) department may talk about about that small rock as if it were all rocks or all one big rock, and as if the chip was a giant blow. PR people talk like that because their job isn't to convey truth; the PR job is to generate news buzz for the university. So unless you have the time and energy to read those papers, it's best to ignore what the PR people say and just to imagine that picture.