Cancer: Breakthroughs and Challenges

Cancer is the second leading cause of death among adults in the US and cancer care costs $125 billion a year. In this episode we hear from medical experts who have researched, written, and made progress in the fight against cancer. Ronald DePinho, president of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, says it’s an exciting time because research has shed light on the instigators of the disease. With the knowledge we have now, he says, up to half of all cancers can be prevented. He’s featured in the podcast along with Eric Lander, president and director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer.