Speaking at the Cancer patient lab
I had the privilege to speak at the Cancer patient lab recently.
The talk focused on lessons learned and approaches I took in battling my own cancer several years ago.
This is a group of cancer patients, scientists, doctors, technologists etc. who are pushing the standards by figuring out how to care for themselves and their loved ones to improve outcomes. Many patients in the group are battling serious Cancers, e.g., Pancreatic, Prostate. So the urgency is high, the stakes are life/death, time is short, and costs can be sky high. As a result what I’ve seen is a somewhat novel form of cancer care that’s driven from a mix of first-principles thinking + close collaboration between patients with similar conditions + bumping against some of the top Oncologists on earth (many from UCSF, Dana-Farber, Stanford, etc.). This really is a remarkable group that’s still in it’s nascency. In speaking with many of the members I’ve come to think of Cancer care in 3 tiers.
The first tier is care by convenience. That is, get diagnosed and treated at the closest place, which typically is selected by convenience vs. highly deliberated. This might be a community clinic or a place not specializing in a particular type of care.
The second, treatment at a so-called Center of excellence. This would be a teaching hospital or similar that specializes in the cancer type in question. This would be the best treatment available through the standards of care. And I should add that as part of this I consider getting on a clinical trial. Often this is the way to go as the standards of care are executed at the highest levels (even/especially if you’re on a control arm).
Third, pushing the standards of care. This would be a mix of the best standards, along with more. For example, it’s very clear that liquid biopsy technologies are evolving quickly. The science is increasingly compelling for cell free DNA tests (e.g., at places like Natera, Guardant), but the technology is moving faster than the health system’s ability to integrate it.
There is certainly an opportunity to drive patients from the first tier to the second. But it’s the third tier that seems particularly compelling in that it pushes the bleeding edge of what’s possible. For example there are a large range of diagnostic tests coming online with solid science/data behind them. And these will continue to out-pace adoption by standard care models, even at the best hospitals. How might people in urgent situations best capitalize on this?
I’ll have more to say on this soon as it’s an area I’ve been thinking deeply about recently. For now, suffice it to say this is a compelling space to watch!
Here’s a writeup on the talk from Brad (CEO at the CPL).
Here’s the talk on Youtube.