Co-founder and Executive Director, Chordoma Foundation
Co-founder and Executive Director of the Chordoma Foundation; sufferer of a rare bone cancer of the skull and spine, he works in a research lab
PROFILE
Josh Sommer
Guest
FROM Josh Sommer
Which Way, L.A.?
Cancer and the Business of Medicine The annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology brings together the latest on cancer research and treatment. Patients and their families pray for news of a breakthrough. Businesses look for investments; entrepreneurs look for opportunities. Last week in Chicago, some 4000 studies were presented to 30,000 top experts — but one warned there's "a growing sense that our optimism needs to be tempered a bit." We hear from him and others about how financial conflicts, personal habits and occupational hazards impact inroads against the disease.
To the Point
Cancer: Big Business and the Painstaking Search for a Cure Five years ago, cancer researchers were predicting "miracle treatments" — even vaccines -- based on the billions being spent on genetics. But the more they know, the more complicated cancer becomes, and even the American Cancer Society has tempered its optimism. Cancer victims, and members of Congress, are increasingly impatient with the slow pace of improvement. Are financial conflicts part of the problem? Given what’s known about personal habits like smoking, about occupational hazards and the environment, should more be spent on prevention?
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To the Point
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
To the Point
Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.
To the Point
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.