March 06, 2023

Episode 22 : Challenges to reduce the global cancer burden, the universal power of storytelling, and the rise of a new public health crisis with Carolyn Taylor

47 minutes

Our guest, Carolyn Taylor, is a photographer, a supportive cancer advocate, and a survivor of ovarian and endometrial cancer. She has worked across the globe increasing access to cancer care. In this episode she talks about how she developed broad-based partnership and built strong alliances with stakeholders to introduce lasting change in access to care. She discusses the differences between the healthcare systems across the world versus the healthcare industry we have in the United States. Carolyn talks about the universal stories that bring individuals together when they hear the words "You have Cancer."

Key highlights:

The intersection of art and global health

Universal power of storytelling to fight cancer stigma globally

The importance of developing culturally appropriate cancer programs

The difference between a healthcare system & a healthcare industry

The emergence of a new public health crisis with the latest data on alcohol consumption and cancer risk

About our guest:

Carolyn Taylor is a photographer, a supportive cancer care advocate and a survivor of ovarian and endometrial cancers. In 2010, after winning a grant from British Airways, she logged more than 120,000 air miles, visiting 14 countries using photography and interviews to document that regardless of race, religion, nationality or economic status, we are all one in the battle against cancer. Inspired by the people she met and the lack of education and support we tend to take for granted in high-resource settings, Carolyn founded Global Focus on Cancer (GFC), a non-profit organization in late 2011 to act as an agent of simple and effective change to help reduce the global burden of cancer through programs in cancer support, awareness, education, advocacy and networking in countries where access to information about cancer is critically lacking.

Key Moments:

7 minutes 45 seconds: On combining photography and art with global health – Everybody needs to tell their story. It's really important for people to have someone listen to their story. It's a way for them to get out their experience, to normalize it or equalize their experience. In addition to getting their stories out, getting this data out there in a more digestible, humanistic way, it also is an opportunity for people to share their story. To share “I am not just a number, I’m a person. I’m not just a statistic.”

22 minutes 21 seconds: On how to develop culturally appropriate programs – If a program is not coming from within the country, it's not going to be sustainable or appropriate. We have to have the buy-in of the country. We really look to help support the development (seed money and seed ideas) based on the resources within the culture.

40 minutes 40 seconds: Difference between a healthcare system & industry – I wish people would be more open to the idea of a centralized healthcare system. It works very well in a lot of social-democratic countries like Finland, Norway, Denmark, France, Italy. It’s free for people. You pay a little more in taxes, but it’s really quality care. The healthcare industry in the US has done its job to poison people’s thoughts on universal health care for their own profitability.

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