All Things Cancer | National Foundation for Cancer Research

From a graduate student who couldn't reliably spell "genetics" to the scientist who provided the first experimental evidence for the class of gene now called "tumor suppressors" — Dr. Webster "Web" Cavenee's career changed how we understand and treat cancer.

In this episode, Dr. Cavenee sits down with NFCR President & CEO Dr. Sujuan Ba to trace a friendship and scientific partnership that's spanned more than 25 years — starting with a name Cavenee accidentally botched at a conference podium. From there, the conversation moves through his landmark discovery of the first tumor suppressor gene, the family who inspired it, and a moment in a Stockholm operating room that changed the direction of his entire career.

They also dig into the origin story of GBM AGILE — the adaptive clinical trial model that took over a decade, $100 million, and no shortage of skeptics to get off the ground, and is now running in more than 100 institutions across the U.S., Europe, Australia, and Canada.

A conversation about risk, collaboration, and what it actually takes to move cancer research from the lab to the patient.

What happens when a cancer biologist and a mathematician become research partners?

In this episode of All Things Cancer, Dr. Lisa Coussens and Dr. Elana Fertig sit down to talk about the unlikely collaboration transforming how we understand breast cancer. Lisa's path wound through art school, marine biology, and an early stint at Genentech before she became a leading cancer biologist. Elana came to science through a love of puzzles and math, eventually applying data science to weather prediction before turning her tools toward cancer research.

Funded by an NFCR grant that encouraged cross-disciplinary partnerships, the two built a collaboration Lisa describes as "like a marriage" — one that combined enormous, complex datasets with the computational tools to make sense of them. They discuss what they found when combining four different anti-cancer therapies in a breast cancer model, why basic science funding matters now more than ever, and what AI can — and can't — realistically do for cancer treatment.

When Tom Clark's wife Bernadette — a nurse and his high school sweetheart of over 50 years — began showing subtle, out-of-character symptoms, she was the one who suspected something was seriously wrong before any scan confirmed it. She was right: a brain tumor, later diagnosed as glioblastoma (GBM), one of the most aggressive cancers there is.

In this episode of All Things Cancer, Tom sits down with Dr. Sujuan Ba, NFCR's President and CEO, to share the full arc of Bernadette's journey — from that first stumble on a mountain trail to brain surgery, chemo, hospice care at home, and the promise he made to keep going. Tom opens up about caregiving, faith, grief, and why he's now dedicated to helping other families facing GBM navigate what he and Bernadette went through.

This is a story about love, persistence, and what it means to show up for someone completely — even when there are no easy answers. All Things Cancer is available anywhere you listen.

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the world — and the most survivable, if you catch it early. Dr. Ron Shore has spent 34 years and 28,000 patient screenings proving it. In this episode, he breaks down the three types of skin cancer, why melanoma can be silent until it's deadly, and the simple screening habits that could save your life. If you've ever skipped your annual skin check, listen to this first.

Dr. Shore also shares his five essential tips for protecting yourself: get a thorough annual exam from a knowledgeable dermatologist, return for check-ups every six to twelve months, wear SPF 50 or higher whenever you're in the sun, encourage older loved ones with visible sun damage to get screened, and if you spot something new or unusual — don't wait, see a doctor now.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In this heartfelt episode of All Things Cancer, NFCR CEO Dr. Sujuan Ba sits down with Shereen Pavlides and her daughter, Isabella Pavlides, to explore how personal loss can spark powerful action.

From Isabella’s leadership through Play4TheCure and her growing Dine & Donate initiative to the lasting influence of her grandmother Esther’s seven-year journey with pancreatic cancer, this conversation highlights caregiving, resilience, and the next generation of advocates stepping up for cancer research.

It’s a moving reminder of how community, compassion, and initiative help make cures possible.