Looking for the missing pieces in the cancer puzzle

This article was inspired by some exceptional people I met while exploring multiple perspectives on this question: Why is cancer still such a challenging disease despite tremendous international efforts to treat it?

I previously wrote about the topic, and invited readers to contribute their perspectives. I gratefully received close to 100 responses from people who had experienced cancer themselves, or who had cared for loved ones with the disease. Many told me about doctor-patient communication, about rejecting chemotherapy, and about the need to treat the whole patient not just their tumours. Some told me about the huge effort it takes to navigate cancer treatment within their health system, and their disillusionment with Western medicine. Others bemoaned the lack of accessible and up-to-date clinical trial information. Those were all insightful discussions that were shared with so much generosity and emotion, I feel really privileged to have heard and read them, and will give them justice in later blogs.

Meeting the cancer hackers

This article was the result of meeting the innovators. The patients and carers who refuse to sit quietly and comply with the current treatment paradigms. Those who thought carefully about the standard of care, its limitations and the reasons behind them. Those…