Every day, 1,650 Americans die of cancer. It is an ugly, devastating, and costly disease that affects far too many people. Although we’re light-years ahead of where we were, we remain frustratingly limited in our capacity to detect, treat, and cure cancer. We’ve spent billions of dollars in research, and made great strides, but there is much more to be done.
Former Vice President Biden, a staunch champion of the Obama administration’s Cancer Moonshot, would likely agree. The very name of the NIH-funded initiative suggests that we’re at a point where big ideas are more necessary than ever.
We’re at a point where big ideas are more necessary than ever.
Big ideas like the Cancer Moonshot were the focus of this week’s Fortune Brainstorm HEALTH, a gathering that brings together global health care leaders to discuss our greatest health care challenges. I had the privilege of sharing the stage there with Fortune’s Clifton Leaf and Duke University’s Shelley Hwang, where we talked about how we can change our thinking to improve health care. Both Cliff and Shelley are deeply immersed in the fight against cancer, and our discussion covered a range of key topics, like the need for improved diagnostic tools, a shift to value-based care, engaging patients in their own care, and ensuring that all populations have access to medical advances – regardless of their incomes.
For me, the big idea is Precision Health, which looks to predict, prevent and cure disease – precisely. It’s hard to find a better fit for Precision Health than cancer. The World Cancer Research Fund estimates that 20 percent of all cancers diagnosed in the U.S. are caused by a combination of excess body weight, physical inactivity, excess alcohol consumption, and poor nutrition. This means that we have a good shot at preventing a substantial proportion of cancers, through a combination of early screening and behavior modification. I’m confident that in the next five to 10 years, we’ll see a wave of innovation in these spaces – driven by both advances in technology and improved application of existing methods like the mammogram.
It’s our duty as physicians to help our patients live the healthiest lives possible.
It’s our duty as physicians to help our patients live the healthiest lives possible. And Precision Health’s focus on treating the patient proactively, taking into account environmental factors and other issues unique to the patient, is one of the best ways for us to beat cancer.
Doctors at our own Stanford Medicine Cancer Institute apply the principles of Precision Health every day, taking advantage of new diagnostic approaches, leveraging the power of collaborative thinking, and deeply engaging with local communities to raise awareness and encourage preventive action. From diagnosing cancer without resorting to invasive surgery, to ensuring that clinical trials draw from diverse patient pools, I’m inspired and encouraged by the work that they do. It gives me hope that we’ll see the end of cancer in my lifetime.
Sometimes, people ask me when we’ll know that Precision Health is working. For me, I’ll know that Precision Health has fulfilled its promise when the number of people who die from diseases like cancer is trending downward, reaching towards zero. We’re not there yet, but by empowering patients; pushing for early screening; and considering environmental, behavioral, and other factors, we might find that the moon is within our grasp.
Reference:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/next-big-idea-health-care-lloyd-minor?trk=v-feed&lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_feed%3BCv68IUhXQ16H5gsXuXFEhA%3D%3D
