All Things Cancer | National Foundation for Cancer Research

He Spent 3 Weeks Unplugged at the Bottom of the Grand Canyon — While Accidentally Revolutionizing Cancer Treatment

What happens when a curious biochemist follows his wife to California, falls in love with whitewater rafting — and accidentally makes one of the most important cancer discoveries of the 20th century? In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Tony Hunter, the 2025 St. Gyorgi Prize winner and Salk Institute legend, whose 1979 discovery of tyrosine phosphorylation laid the foundation for over 80 cancer drugs in use today. We talk about the moment the scientific world accepted his discovery, why America's cancer research dominance is now under serious threat, the "valley of death" killing promising treatments before they reach patients, and what AI can — and can't — do for the future of cancer medicine. Equal parts science, adventure, and a warning the research world needs to hear.

Your Mammogram Can Now Predict Cancer Before You Have It -- Here's the Doctor Making It Happen

What if you could know your breast cancer risk at 25 and actually do something about it? Dr. Funmi Olopade, a trailblazing oncologist at the University of Chicago, has spent 30 years rewriting the rules of breast cancer care, and she believes we can eradicate it as a cause of premature death within a decade. In this episode, she breaks down how AI, genetic testing, and a simple blood test are transforming early detection, why too many women are still being failed by a broken system, and what every woman should be doing right now, no matter their age. This is a conversation that could change how you think about your own health.

Doctors Gave Her 3 Years to Live. She Changed Cancer Research Instead.

At age 37, Kathy Giusti was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and told she had just three years to live. Instead of accepting that fate, she turned urgency into action and founded the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF), transforming how cancer nonprofits accelerate drug development. Today, more than 15 therapies have been approved for multiple myeloma and survival rates have more than doubled. In this episode of All Things Cancer, Dr. Sujuan Ba speaks with Kathy Giusti about her new book Fatal to Fearless, the leadership and strategy required to drive progress in cancer research, and how collaboration between nonprofits, academia, industry, and regulators can speed lifesaving treatments to patients. They also explore the future of cancer research, including venture philanthropy, data sharing, AI-driven discovery, and why patients must be empowered to advocate for themselves in a complex medical system.

Why Was Half This Village Dying of Cancer— And No One Stopped It?

Half a village was dying of cancer. No one could explain why. For the Season One finale of All Things Cancer, we’re ending with a story that changed the trajectory of cancer research — and saved generations of lives. What began as a keynote trip to Turkey turned into one of the most extraordinary cancer investigations in modern medicine. In this episode, Dr. Michele Carbone shares how he uncovered a deadly inherited mutation, confronted government officials, helped relocate entire villages, and identified the BAP1 gene — a discovery that transformed our understanding of mesothelioma and inherited cancer risk. But the twists don’t stop there. After four years, $10 million in funding, and zero published results, his research was on the brink of collapse. Then a 1-in-100-billion clue changed everything. In this episode, you’ll hear: * How a remote village in Turkey led to a global cancer breakthrough * The gene that can guarantee cancer — yet may also help patients survive it * The policy battle that protected future generations * Why Dr. Carbone warns against overreliance on AI in medicine * And how cooking helped him build a cancer center from the ground up This is a story about persistence, courage, and the power of research to move beyond the lab and into real lives. As we close out Season One, this conversation is a powerful reminder of why cancer research matters — and what’s possible when science meets compassion.

We’re Drowning in Cancer Data — And Still Missing Cures

In this episode, Dr. Sujuan Ba is joined by Dr. Ann Barker, one of the most influential architects of modern cancer research, for a wide-ranging conversation on where the field is headed and what must change to accelerate progress. Dr. Barker shares why cancer research is at a critical inflection point, driven by an explosion of data, the rise of artificial intelligence, and the urgent need to move beyond siloed science. Together, they explore the promise and limitations of AI in oncology, the importance of high-quality and standardized data, and why collaboration across disciplines is no longer optional. The conversation also dives into funding challenges, the role of nonprofits in building shared research infrastructure, and how convergence science has powered landmark efforts like The Cancer Genome Atlas and GBM AGILE. Dr. Barker reflects on her career, the lessons learned from large-scale collaboration, and why this moment may be one of the most exciting in the history of biomedical research. This episode offers a candid, big-picture look at how AI, data, and collaboration could shape the future of cancer research — and what it will take to get there.