Full Frame: Curing Cancer with Dr. Tony Blau

Full Frame

Globally, nearly one in six deaths is due to cancer, making it the second-leading cause of death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

Dr. Tony Blau is a professor of hematology oncology at the University of Washington in Seattle. For three decades, he has researched blood cancers.

The work is personal to Tony. He is a survivor of multiple myeloma, a blood cancer.

“I live in this remarkable timethat’s incredibly dynamic … massive progress, massive changes, and I’ve been the beneficiary,” Tony told Full Frame.

With so much progress in cancer treatments, Tony’s work now aims to help connect patients to personalized therapies. Tony and his oncologist wife, Sibel, created the online platform All4Cure, a kind of crowd-sourcing app for cancer patients.    

 

In the second part of his interview with Full Frame, Tony discusses his vision for the future of cancer treatments. His prediction is cancer one day will be like an HIV: Still a serious diagnosis but not one with a death sentence.

Nancy Borowick was blindsided when both her parents were diagnosed with cancer within months of each other. Nancy did what was natural to her — she picked up her camera. What followed is an emotional journey documenting the last months, weeks and days of her parents’ lives. 

Nancy documented the journey in her book, Family Imprint: A Daughter’s Portrait of Love and Loss.