4A - Forming An Opportunity Belief


The Beginning Point

Why do people still die of cancer? I have a problem with that... And we all do.

Description

There is an opportunity to tell stories of remarkable individuals who give vast contributions to the medical field. These are the right people to ask the question above.

  1. The unmet need is that medicine has yet to be capable of curing many people from cancer. 
  2. Cancer patients certainly are the ones who have the need;
  3. This need has existed ever since humans sought to understand and cure maladies - cancer being the emperor of all;
  4. The world has been working hard against cancer. Specially since the 70's, upon Nixon's efforts in designating billions of dollars towards the war on cancer, billions more have been spent on the understanding of the disease as well as on the development of new therapies. Today, most cancers are curable, yet it is still the second major cause of death among Americans.
The answer to: "why do people still die of cancer?" is rather complex, and it involves many aspects of medicine. Interviewing a stranger about it would prove to be a waste of time. The right people to be asked are those in the forefronts of this battle. I have, therefore, filmed an interview with a cancer patient, doctor, scientist looking to find the answer from all perspectives (each video is only 2 minutes long):


Patient

https://youtu.be/itBZfBxZUP4

"I am lucky that my cancer is treatable, and some cancers aren't as treatable as mine is."

Doctor

https://youtu.be/NzVSmewSBeE

"I am not very politically correct about this, but this is the truth."

Scientist

https://youtu.be/2s1URkVpgyk

"We know how to cure cancers in mice so well, we are great at it. Very poor at curing it in humans, because the work doesn't translate across."


Summary

The original opportunity remains. It may be difficult to see how these interviews may help find cures, but this is like a world war, with many battles and an immense amount of distinctly skilled soldiers. Without knowing the specific challenges each soldier faces, it does no good to add more soldiers. We need no better scientists or doctors, we need a better healthcare system, all the way from the lab bench to the patient's bed. I believe that by telling the world about each specific challenge we face at each battlefront of this war, we have a precious shot at improving the efficiency by which we treat cancer.

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