system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why when there is a medical 'breakthrough' that seems like it will treat or cure a huge disease or illness, does nothing change?

I see things that sound like alzheimer's or cancer has a huge breakthrough that SOUNDS like it is cured or treated but then nothing changes.
gpt
Largely because news stories sensationalize science without fully understanding it. 

There is a relevant XKCD comic that has a guy in a lab coat standing over a petri dish with a gun that says, "When you see a claim that a common drug or vitamin 'kills cancer cells in a petri dish', keep in mind: so does a handgun."

So, while there may be "breakthroughs" in curing cancer, that doesn't mean that it's a feasible, applicable solution.