R. Sean Morrison, MD, is a leading voice in geriatric medicine and a pioneering palliative care researcher. He joined the TheoryLab podcast to talk about the steps Mount Sinai Hospital is taking to help patients and what we can all do to lower risk for cancer patients and older adults. He also emphasized the importance of doing things every day to lift our spirits and provide each other with social support.

R. Sean Morrison, MD, is an American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professor. He is the Ellen and Howard C. Katz Professor and Chair for the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Mount Sinai. He is also the Director of the Lilian and Benjamin Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute and the National Palliative Care Research Center.

2:27 – What he would say to people who think coverage of COVID-19 has been overblown and exaggerated

3:40 – How Mt. Sinai Hospital has reorganized to confront the pandemic

5:25 – The two subsets of people who appear to be at higher risk for complications from COVID-19 infection

8:44 – What we can all do to reduce risk

11:20 – What patients living with cancer should do

13:09 – On the importance of keeping your anxiety and worry at a manageable level

15:53 – How older adults can maintain social support during this time

20:50 – Where older adults should turn to for up-to-date information

22:45 – What we can all do to make things safer for cancer patients and survivors

Len Lichtenfeld, M.D., MACP, American Cancer Society deputy chief medical officer, reviews the week's events as coronavirus gets real in the U.S.

Len Lichtenfeld, M.D., MACP, American Cancer Society deputy chief medical officer, reviews the week's events as coronavirus gets real in the U.S.

What does COVID-19 mean for cancer patients and caregivers? How can they lower their risk of infection? How can everyone help reduce risk for this vulnerable population? What should cancer patients do if they are undergoing treatment?

Len Lichtenfeld, MD, MACP, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for the American Cancer Society, provides important guidance and perspective.

2:26 – The need for people, and particularly those with cancer, to find reliable sources of information

3:51 – How there is much we don’t yet know about how COVID-19 affects cancer patients

5:20 – Why the mortality rate for cancer patients with COVID-19 is higher than it is for other groups

7:22 – How cancer patients can mitigate risk

8:39 – “Never has there been a time when my health, or your health, depends so much on others around us doing the right thing.”

10:35 – Why we all have a responsibility to help “flatten the curve”

13:16 – Should cancer patients give up social activities like dinner with friends?

17:12 – What does this epidemic mean for cancer patients currently undergoing treatment?

22:24 – The most important thing for us all to hold onto in the time ahead

What does COVID-19 mean for cancer patients and caregivers? How can they lower their risk of infection? How can everyone help reduce risk for this vulnerable population? What should cancer patients do if they are undergoing treatment?

Len Lichtenfeld, MD, MACP, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for the American Cancer Society, provides important guidance and perspective.

2:26 – The need for people, and particularly those with cancer, to find reliable sources of information

3:51 – How there is much we don’t yet know about how COVID-19 affects cancer patients

5:20 – Why the mortality rate for cancer patients with COVID-19 is higher than it is for other groups

7:22 – How cancer patients can mitigate risk

8:39 – “Never has there been a time when my health, or your health, depends so much on others around us doing the right thing.”

10:35 – Why we all have a responsibility to help “flatten the curve”

13:16 – Should cancer patients give up social activities like dinner with friends?

17:12 – What does this epidemic mean for cancer patients currently undergoing treatment?

22:24 – The most important thing for us all to hold onto in the time ahead

Tom Lynch, MD, is president and director of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

A former American Cancer Society grantee, Dr. Lynch is a physician scientist who has taken care of thousands of lung cancer patients and helped conduct translational research that has changed the field. Early in his career he was part of a transdisciplinary research team that discovered how targeted therapies could help lung cancer patients with mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene.

Dr. Lynch was most recently chief scientific officer of Bristol-Myers Squibb. Previously he was CEO of Massachusetts General Physicians Organization, director of Yale Cancer Center, physician-in-chief at Yale’s Smilow Cancer Hospital, chief of hematology-oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

0:53 – What he enjoys most about his new job

1:52 – The very important role of fundamental, basic science and the promise of transdisciplinary research

4:28 – Two cancer research breakthroughs in recent years that stand out: the advent of immunotherapy and the ability to sequence genes for patients

7:42 – Advice for an academic seeking to partner with biotech to translate research into the clinic? How can the gap between industry and academia be bridged?

11:00 – Advice for young scientists trying to take the next step in their career

13:20 – His scientific hero

13:35 – His favorite teacher growing up

14:35 – Most exhilarating moment of his scientific career

17:32 – Most important part of his daily routine

18:23 – The need to change how science is taught in universities

21:50 – A message for cancer patients and caregivers

Tom Lynch, MD, is president and director of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

A former American Cancer Society grantee, Dr. Lynch is a physician scientist who has taken care of thousands of lung cancer patients and helped conduct translational research that has changed the field. Early in his career he was part of a transdisciplinary research team that discovered how targeted therapies could help lung cancer patients with mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene.

Dr. Lynch was most recently chief scientific officer of Bristol-Myers Squibb. Previously he was CEO of Massachusetts General Physicians Organization, director of Yale Cancer Center, physician-in-chief at Yale’s Smilow Cancer Hospital, chief of hematology-oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

0:53 – What he enjoys most about his new job

1:52 – The very important role of fundamental, basic science and the promise of transdisciplinary research

4:28 – Two cancer research breakthroughs in recent years that stand out: the advent of immunotherapy and the ability to sequence genes for patients

7:42 – Advice for an academic seeking to partner with biotech to translate research into the clinic? How can the gap between industry and academia be bridged?

11:00 – Advice for young scientists trying to take the next step in their career

13:20 – His scientific hero

13:35 – His favorite teacher growing up

14:35 – Most exhilarating moment of his scientific career

17:32 – Most important part of his daily routine

18:23 – The need to change how science is taught in universities

21:50 – A message for cancer patients and caregivers

Yousuf Zafar, MD, MHS, is a physician scientist whose research is focused on the cost of cancer care, specifically the patient-level impact of the cost of cancer care and what he calls financial toxicity:

“Any time a patient experiences costs related to his/her cancer care, whether that’s a cost of drug, a co-pay, time off work, parking, or any of the multitude of costs that our patients face—any time those costs result in harm to the patient—that in my mind is the financial toxicity of cancer care.”

Yousuf Zafar, MD, MHS, is Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke Cancer Institute. He’s also a practicing oncologist who treats patients with GI cancers.

2:22 - What is financial toxicity?

3:58 – What he means by, “We must make the invisible, visible.”

7:36 – How the Affordable Care Act impacted the financial toxicity of cancer

11:00 – On the very important findings from the “natural experiment” that’s happened with Medicaid eligibility expansion: “37 states have passed Medicaid expansion, increasing the eligibility threshold allowing more people to get coverage, while remaining states have not.”

15:02 – What’s next? What are the next questions researchers need to investigate in this area?

17:10 – How can we get together as a community to impact patient care?

21:33 – On the impact of ACS funding on his career

23:07 – His message for cancer patients and caregivers

Yousuf Zafar, MD, MHS, is a physician scientist whose research is focused on the cost of cancer care, specifically the patient-level impact of the cost of cancer care and what he calls financial toxicity:

“Any time a patient experiences costs related to his/her cancer care, whether that’s a cost of drug, a co-pay, time off work, parking, or any of the multitude of costs that our patients face—any time those costs result in harm to the patient—that in my mind is the financial toxicity of cancer care.”

Yousuf Zafar, MD, MHS, is Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke Cancer Institute. He’s also a practicing oncologist who treats patients with GI cancers.

2:22 - What is financial toxicity?

3:58 – What he means by, “We must make the invisible, visible.”

7:36 – How the Affordable Care Act impacted the financial toxicity of cancer

11:00 – On the very important findings from the “natural experiment” that’s happened with Medicaid eligibility expansion: “37 states have passed Medicaid expansion, increasing the eligibility threshold allowing more people to get coverage, while remaining states have not.”

15:02 – What’s next? What are the next questions researchers need to investigate in this area?

17:10 – How can we get together as a community to impact patient care?

21:33 – On the impact of ACS funding on his career

23:07 – His message for cancer patients and caregivers

For people who have had certain cancers or certain patterns of cancer in their family, genetic testing and counseling can be a lifesaver.

Heather Hampel, a Professor and genetic counselor at The Ohio State University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, explains how genetic testing can help prevent cancer and personalize treatments for cancer patients.

She talks about her research into breast cancer health equity, which is funded by the American Cancer Society, and about Lynch Syndrome, which increases risk for several types of cancer that are preventable if you know you have Lynch Syndrome.

She also describes some of the red flags that indicate someone should seek cancer genetic counseling; she encourages such individuals to visit www.findageneticcounselor.com.

You can learn more about genetic testing and counseling on the American Cancer Society’s website: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/genetics/understanding-genetic-testing-for-cancer.html

2:45 -What is a genetic counselor?

3:34 - How can genetic counselors help someone who has had a cancer diagnosis

9:02 – The importance of HR3235: the 2019 Access to Genetics Counselor Services Act

“What this bill would do…is it actually would make genetic counselors recognized providers for Medicare.”

11:44 – On her research into Lynch Syndrome, which increases risk for several types of cancer that are preventable if you know you have Lynch Syndrome.

“We think 1 out of every 279 individuals has Lynch Syndrome, yet 95% of individuals with Lynch Syndrome are not aware of their diagnosis.”

16:57 – On cascade testing, when genetic testing is given to at-risk relatives of someone with a hereditary condition

20:33 – How genetic testing can sometimes help personalize your cancer treatment

23:27 – Her new American Cancer Society-funded research project, “Turning the Page on Breast Cancer”

27:12 – Some of the red flags that indicate someone should seek cancer genetic counseling