Ep 545 - Targeting Colorectal Cancer

Guest: Thomas O’Shaughnessy

By Stuart McNish

Colorectal cancer –  it’s difficult to treat, it can and often spreads, it kills more than 5,000 Canadians a year (most of them men), and the incidence of it is increasing. The incidence of colorectal cancer is increasing in younger men and “this used to be considered an older person’s affliction," says Thomas O’Shaughnessy, the CEO of Onco Innovations, a Calgary-based cancer research company.

“Not anymore,” O’Shaughnessy continues. “Men under 50 are being diagnosed with colorectal cancer in increasing numbers and unfortunately more younger people are dying from the disease.” One of the reasons why colorectal cancer is deadly is the challenge it poses for treatment. “Radiation and chemotherapy are supposed to destroy cancer cells. In colorectal cancer they aren’t as effective.”

Onco Innovations has developed a treatment that targets solid cancer cells only. The goal is to destroy only the cancer cells' ability to replicate. “Our treatment is targeted and it aids and enhances the ability of other treatments to destroy and prevent the spread of the cancer,” says O’Shaughnessy.

We invited Thomas O’Shaugnessy of Onco Innovations to join us for a Conversation That Matters about targeting and destroying colorectal cancer.

You can see the interview here https://www.conversationsthatmatter.ca/

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca