Why’d You Have To Go and Make Cancer So Complicated?

Please note: We experienced some unavoidable technical difficulties during recording, which you may notice throughout the episode. We are always working to improve quality and appreciate your patience and support!

On this week’s episode of the pod, we take a break from discussing COVID-19 to discuss something that has undoubtedly touched all of our lives—cancer. We kick things off with a population health summary of cancer incidence and prevalence, to understand its disease burden in the US and globally. We discuss how the pandemic has impacted diagnosis and treatment of cancer due to reduced access to care which will take years to quantify. Next, we dive into the actual definition of cancer and how it is not one disease but rather hundreds of different diseases. We discuss mutations and the impact of genetic heterogeneity on cancer development. We talk about the different ways to categorize cancers and some nomenclature. We describe how signs and symptoms caused by cancer will vary depending on what part of the body is affected but outline some general signs and symptoms associated with, but not specific to, cancer. We talk about some risk factors for cancer—genetic, behavioral, and environmental – and how some can be modified, while others cannot. We could spend many hours talking about this topic—so next week, we will continue the conversation and discuss treatment options and clinical outcomes.

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