Lung cancer remains the third most common cancer in the United States—and the deadliest. But there’s lots of reason for optimism: Lung cancer incidence and death rates have been steadily falling for decades. Experts attribute the declines in part to lower smoking rates, but also to exciting advances in lung cancer treatments and increasing awareness about the need for early detection and screening. In this episode of Focus on Cancer, our host, Pat Basu, MD, MBA, President & CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA), and Bruce Gershenhorn, DO, Lung Cancer Program Director at CTCA®, recognize Lung Cancer Awareness Month with a robust discussion on the progress being made in fighting lung cancer, and what more needs to be done.

It is a sprawling, complex care system with an often-fragmented patient experience, a complex cost structure and an empowered, informed patient base. The largest integrated hospital network in the nation, devoted to caring for our nation’s heroes, the Veterans Affairs system shares some key commonalities with the cancer care community, and few can speak to those insights better than the ninth Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, David J. Shulkin, MD. On the eve of Veterans Day 2020, Secretary Shulkin sits down with the host of Focus on Cancer, Pat Basu, MD, MBA, President & CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA), to discuss his work at the VA, the strides that have been made in veteran health care, what’s needed to fix remaining challenges—and how many of those lessons can be applied to cancer care.

Greg Simon has played some key roles in the fight against deadly diseases: President of the Biden Cancer Initiative. Executive Director of President Obama’s White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force. Co-founder of FasterCures, an organization committed to developing new treatment therapies. A cancer survivor himself, he’s become a leading advocate and go-to analyst on emerging trends in health care, drug research and patient advocacy, affording him rich insights into both the health care-delivery system and the patient experience. In this episode of Focus on Cancer, Greg sits down with our host, Pat Basu, MD, MBA, President & CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA), covering a range of cancer-related topics. At the heart of the discussion: What are the prospects for reigniting, and landing, the Cancer Moonshot?

Over the past few years, telehealth visits—connecting doctor and patient via virtual technology from the comfort of the patient’s home—were beginning to grow in popularity. Dermatologists were making skin checks. Radiologists used the technology to review radiology scans while the patient underwent tests in another location. But in the age of COVID-19, what was once more of a novelty of convenience has become an essential tool in the delivery of health care, especially in the cancer space. In this episode of Focus on Cancer, our host, Pat Basu, MD, MBA, President & CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA), and his guest, Chevon M. Rariy, MD, Telehealth Program Director at CTCA®, discuss the critical role telehealth technologies are increasingly playing in cancer care.

From the color of our hair to the way our bodies tolerate medicine, our genes play a critical role in our health, and our ability to fight off or develop illness and disease, including cancer. But the genes in our DNA profile are not the only ones dictating our health. The genetic profile of a tumor is also critically important in determining how the cancer behaves and grows, and oncologists are now using that information to personalize treatments in very targeted ways. In this episode of Focus on Cancer, the second in a two-part series on how genes are used in cancer treatment, Pat Basu, MD, MBA, President & CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA), and his guest, Maurie Markman, MD, President of Medicine & Science at CTCA®, discuss how precision medicine has revolutionized cancer care over the past decade or two.

Ever since scientists sequenced the first DNA strand as part of the Human Genomic Project in the early part of the 21st century, our understanding of the role genes play in our health, and disease, has revolutionized the field of medicine. This is especially true of cancer care. In this episode of Focus on Cancer, the first in a two-part series, Pat Basu, MD, MBA, President & CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA), and his guest, Maurie Markman, MD, President of Medicine & Science at CTCA®, discuss pharmacogenomics, a burgeoning field that studies the role genetic variants play in how the body responds to medication.

The body’s immune system is a powerful force, protecting us against infection, illness and disease. But sometimes, those protections break down, allowing cancer to form and grow. In one of the most exciting areas of cancer treatment, doctors are discovering more and more about how to harness the immune system’s power to recognize and fight cancer. In this episode of Focus on Cancer, Pat Basu, MD, MBA, President & CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA), and his guest, Ankur Parikh, DO, Director of the Precision Medical Program at CTCA, discuss the past, present and promising future of immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy drugs that marshal the body’s immune system to fight cancer. Genomic analyses that examine cancer at the cellular level, allowing for precise treatments personalized to each patient. These and other breakthroughs have been made possible because of one little-understood, yet fundamental aspect of cancer care: the clinical trial. How do clinical trials work? What progress have they made? Why do so few patients enroll in them? And what is the future of cancer research in the age of COVID-19? Pat Basu, MD, MBA, President & CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA), and his guest, Arturo Loaiza-Bonilla, MD, MSEd, FACP, Medical Director of the Clinical Research Program at CTCA, answer those questions on this week’s Focus on Cancer podcast.

Because of their compromised immune systems, many cancer patients are taking extra steps to protect themselves from contracting the COVID-19 virus, staying away from crowds, wearing masks while in public, washing their hands, using grocery delivery services and limiting trips outside the home. But one thing they can’t afford to miss is their cancer treatment appointments. So many are asking: What is my cancer hospital doing to keep me safe from COVID-19? Pat Basu, MD, MBA, President & CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA), and his guest, Jeffrey Metts, MD, MPH, Chief of Medicine at CTCA® Atlanta, answers that question, and others, on this week’s webcast of Focus on Cancer.

Efforts to reopen the economy aren’t just about restaurants, beaches, gyms and hair salons. The federal government’s recent decision to relax restrictions on “non-essential” medical procedures means patients can once again have the outpatient surgeries, cancer screenings and other care postponed since the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. For cancer patients, the renewed access comes none too soon—amid multiple studies that have found the pandemic has led to delays in cancer treatment, screening, even clinical trials. Pat Basu, MD, President & CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA), and his guest, Julian Schink, MD, Chief Medical Officer at CTCA®, discuss what the Opening Up America initiative means for cancer patients on the debut episode of the Focus On Cancer podcast.