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World Cancer Day takes plae every February on the fourf the month.

It is a globaly unified eft to educate and heighten awareness about the diseasd disease prevention.

It'sossible that you may kw someone who's had cancer, whichever form.

There's no doubt that cancr takes a toll on not only te person battling it, but alo family and friends.

On this episode, we hope to educate inform and hopefuly inspire you educate you moe about the disease, inform u about early detection for certain cancers and the fue of cancer research and inse you with the story of someh school students who are rag money for research.

Welcome to Sue Selo.

Cheers to good health.

I'm your host.

Gen. Ortega.

We're broadcasting from ine the PPE Public Med Center n Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Our first guest tonight is Amanda Formore, a physician assistant from St Luke's Adversity Health Network.

Thank you for joining us t, Amanda.

Amanda, talk to us about Wd Cancer Day and today is important to help spread awareness of cancer itself.

And all types of cancer, bt also to promote awareness t people are doing preventate measures to help you to hep increase the amount of canr within the population or at least to diagnose cancer earlier on.

So that's a contentious, terrible person, a malignay that may not be globaly.

It also helps to improve patient service.

To that end, I let's talk t the disease.

Of course, not a monolith.

And there are so many difft forms.

But in its simplest form, w would you define what cancs and what it does to the boy Gamma Most basic level canr is basically unconolle So replication though, canr cells just continually muly and the checks that are normally and Dublin fail at causes an overgrowth of the cells that potentially in e bloodstream and go and interrupt other normal tise kind of person be geneticay predisposed to getting a certain type of cancer.

They can there are certain genetic mutations that predispose patients to cern types of cancers specifica.

And the most common one I k most people are aware of ie brakhage gene that leads to breast cancer in women.

And so how many kinds of different known cancers are there?

So there along with lymphoa alone, there's over 70 some types lymphoma.

I actually don't have the t number.

What are some of the most commonly known forms of ca?

So the most common form of cancer in women is breast cancer.

But globaly, lung cancer l. Prostate is the most common men and colorectal cancer s been up for about how many global citizens would you y lose their battle with some form of cancer every day.

So the answer I found in 20 making mentally 9 million people lost their life to cancer.

What are some of the most commonly known forms of treatment, though?

The staging of the cancer l actually dictate what treatments will wo bes interpretation an earlier e cancers.

A lot of times surgery and radiation might used togetr to help cure the cancer.

But in the later stage, car chemotherapy is also emplod now.

Chemotherapy underneath tht umbrella is really expanden the past few years.

This new line of treatment therapy has really3 4 F1 revolutionized the way that we've been treating cancerd particularly the worlds of melanoma and lung cancer.

In my practe we use a lot f immunotherapy.

You know, I think a lot of patients are really aware chemotherapy of old, whichs the medications that are ry toxic to the body.

So people are really as paf the awareness of chemothery when people think about its feeling all the time nause, vomiting, hair loss.

Now th immunotherapy, the side effects make some individual more mild and as life altering in some resps as the old cmothapy may have targeted treatments tt we utilize for certain typf cancers that display molecr marker on the cancer cell d we can use that marker to target to kill the cancer e like when it comes to treag cancer patients.

Amanda.

What is your specialty witn St Luke's Gamma There are doctors that do work more doctors that do work morecf cancer.

But where I am right now, I deal with a lot just doing community oncology.

Do you have any final thous that you'd like to share wh us othis subject?

Prevention key I would recommend that people follp with their primary care dos to undergo routine health checks, which would includr women routine pap smears ad mammography and for men physical exams as well as checking PSA once you're eligible between the ages 0 and 50, depending on your family history.

Moreover, colon screeningsh a call and ask if these absolutely recommended for anybody 5and older.

If we can catch it early, e chances of survival are vey high compared spreads outse of that primary tissue.

Thank you, Amanda, for joig us today.

For all of that informatio.

I really appreciate your t. The work that you're doingh cancer patients at St Luke.

Our next guest is Dr Sarah Mosley, the national field director and the medical science liaison at Grail I.

Grill is a health care comy doing exciting research in early detection blood testr cancer.

Thank you, Sah,or joining us today.

Our main focus for this shs cancer and world cancer.

So can you tell us why Word Cancer Day is important Gaa Yes.

Since the world counts a da day fourth of February evey year were accounts.

A community comes togetherd raises awareness about the battle against this disease globaly.

Currently, tod we're losing more than 600,000 people te disease of cancer annually.

And we're making significat advances in drugs to help s disease.

However, we need to find br approaches to be able to ce it.

And this is why I'm here ty to talk about Grails Galere test and early detection in order to be able to detect early when we have an opportunity to cure cancer.

I want to talk about that n just a second.

But let me ask you this.

In your professional opini, are we ever going to defeat cancer Gamma You know, thaa great question.

And as you know, we've been a war against cancer for decades now and we have mae some significant progress.

We've developed very good s that are helping patients.

However, the challenge that we're facing today is thatt patients being detected iny late stages when the cances already spread to different parts of the body.

And at that time, that's wn it becomes very difficult o cure.

And so we really need to st the way that we think about cancer to being able to det it in earliest stages whene have an oortunity to cure e disease.

We know from data that if e can detect cancer much ear, we have an opportunity to e patients lives.

Nine out of 10 patients tht are detected in early stage disease can survive five ys or more.

In contrast, patients thate detected in late stage dis, detected in late stage dise years.

So currently we recognize t early detection is importat and we're screening for fif the main killers of cancer.

That's breast cancer, colorectal cancer, colon cancer.

Prostate cancer in some individuals, lung cancer in high risk individuals, cerl cancer.

However, the cancers that % currently screening for toy only represent about 30% oe cancers that are in the population.

We need approaches to be ae to detect the 70% cancers t we're currently not screeng for.

And that is what Grails min is about.

And the Grail Galerie test detects more than 50 cancer types in early stage disea.

So that's an additional 45 cancers as well as the five cancers that are already bn screened for.

And this is where we have n opportunity to make a significant difference on e death rates in this cancer disease.

It's really about detecting early.

How accurate is this bloodt in detecting cancer?

So Grails Galerie test is e to detect more than 50 cans very accurately with less n 1% false alarms.

So we call false positive e in in contrast, when we lot the different cancer appros that we cancer detection approaches that we have toy for early detection, mammography and colorectalr example, and cervical disee combined, we're managing 88 million false alarms.

So in complimenting the grl test with existing screenig approaches, it is going to provide an additional valuf detecting many more cancers with not a significant numr of false alarms that physis will be managing.

And of course, that's very important, too.

For the patient experience, too.

We don't want sending patis for an unnecessary procedu.

So the accuracy of this bld test is very high and quite different to what we used o dealing with these single r testing approaches now.

Doctor, is this going to be something that's going to t of a routine check-up or is this something that you'lle to request in advance Gamma That's a great question.

Our goal is to make this tt broadly available to paties across the United States.

Initially we will be makint available through a numberf employer sf-inred channels, through some specialty physicians and some innovae healthcare assistance.

And so patients we encourae patients to ask their physicians if this is appropriate for them.

It will take time for it te available broadly.

And so if the patient isn't part of the health systemst are providing it, we would encourage them to have discussions with their physician and see if it's n appropriate path for them.

You know, Doctor.

That sounds really excitin.

So let me ask you this.

When will this tie early detection be available for patients Gamma Yes.

I we're very excited to bee to be bringing this test io healthcare by sometime this year and we're really in aw era of of the war against cancer as it was a diseasen the population by bringings very new approach into heah care to be able to detect multi, multiple cancers in early stage diseasesather than the single tumor approaches that we're facig today.

And I personally have a vey close connection to this disease.

@I recently lost my mothero lung cancer and she was identified as having lung cancer in very late stagesd passed away within nine we.

And so clearly early detecn could have given an opporty to help my mother.

And this is why we have a e of urgcy to bring this test into health care as quickls we can.

And help those that may not know they have cancer todad detect them early when we e an opportunity to cure hava similar situation as yoursf with my father in law.

So I'm very wonderful news.

I'm very excited to hear t. Is there anything else youd like to add, Doctor, to ths conversation?

I think that it's importano share that in in Pennsylva, which is the community of r viewers here.

There's a significant chale with cancer as a disease tt is driving death rates in e community.

So I have some statistics .

There's 85,000 new cancer s in Pennsylvania annually ad that's resulting in nearly 28,000 deaths in the population.

And the disease of cancer s disproportionately significantly affecting the Latino population.

Latino women are more than close to two and a half tis more likely to die of stomh cancer.

That's a cancer type that currently isn't being scred for is often detected in le stages when it's spread to different parts of the bodd it's very difficult to cure Latino population in geners that much higher risk of lr cancer?

Another cancer type that we not currently screening fo.

And so Grails mission in developing gallery test iso be able to screen for and identify those cancer typen much earlier stages when we have an opportune city to e lives in those cancer types that we're not currently screening for.

Let me tell you, Doctor, tt we are all rooting for youd your research and I wish yu luck.

Thank you for the work that you're doing and thanks for being with us today.

I really appreciate your t. Founded in 1940, 9, the leukemia and Lymphoma Sociy is the largest vunta health organization dedicated to fighting blood cancer in te world.

Fighting cures, finding cus for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myela have been and remain the mission of this organizati.

They also strive to improve quality of life for patiens and families alike.

My next two guests are a pr of heroes in the fight agat cancers of the blood, a yog high school junior by the e of Rya Kosa and her mentorr this project.

Maria Montero.

They have teamed up along h two other high school studs to raise money for the leua and Lymphoma Society.

Ladies, thanks for joinings today.

Thank you.

Ryan, let's start with you.

I mean, you like helping people.

You wanted to do more for people.

Why did you decide to get involved?

So I have personal connects to cancer as my mom has ben working with cancer patiens for over 25 years.

And my grandfather also pad away from this devastating season.

And I really wanted to take this opportunity to give bk to the community.

Tell us about the team.

Your team it's called Cancr Crushers.

Yeah.

So we work really hard to y to come up with a campaignn order to have as much donas as we can.

And also spread awareness o everyone.

We have a team over 30 that Caroline gave and I look or and oversee now I understad you all have some ties to e disease and have lost loved ones due to cancer.

Do you share a little bit f that story with us Gamma Y.

So Gabe's both Gabe grandparents died of canced Caroline's friend's mom whe was really close to also pd away.

Maria.

You're an adviser to Rya ad her team.

What's your role in this project?

And what made you decide tt involved Gamma Genesis.

The interesting part of beg on this team is I Emmaus or more sort of support becaue Rya, Gabe and Caroline are leading the team.

And so my role is supportig them and I've been able ton up my network.

I've been able to share experiences that I've had throughout my life and fundraising.

And most importantly, I wao spread that cure for cance.

It's possible as a mentor r these exemplary young peop.

Can you tell us a little bt more about the L-l-I Studef the Year program Gamma Absolutely.

So MLS is allowing studento want to get more engaged in their community and opporty to lead a team.

It's a great leadership experience for these kids because think about it, Genesis, when we were in hh school, you know, what were doing when we're selling gl Scout cookies?

Are we out helping our community and these teenags are stepping up and they wt make a difference right no?

Covid has been so demoralig and challenging and we've t so many of our loved ones.

And this gives them opporty for the students to serve a greater good.

And while they're doing ths gain leadership experience, that's great, Maria.

What sort of advice and mentorship are you providig through this experience?

Riot to so many of my amazg network, including you.

Thank you so much, PBS.

And also Genesis and givins this opportunity to raise awareness on how to fight a cure.

And you know, the experiene overall has been rewarding.

I you know, through Covid,I think a lot of us are askig ourselves what can we do to give back Gamma I prayed at as I just said, hey, God, I feel like I want to do mor.

I want to help.

This amazing opportunity ce to through Rya to help volunteer and be a mentor h Ella less and I couldn't be more thankful.

And I hope that other peopn the Lehigh Valley can answr that call to service.

It could start from anywhe.

You know your nieces, your nephews, your cousins.

But it c gro bigger and it can be part of helping community.

It's a great community sere point and I want to get tot in a bit.

But I want to ask you write what has your fundraising n like?

What are your goals and dou have a deadline Gamma Yes.

So the deadline is March 9.

Honestly, our goal is to re as much awareness and collt as much donations in ordero fund the care.

And it's been really nice d helpful in fundraising and people have been really supportive.

And yeah, well, you're stag out.

I can tell you that in anyg people for money unless its your parents right.

So I mean, what have you learned about leukemia and lymphoma Gamma You know, ae you finding yourself answeg questions Gamma What have u learned through this proce?

Yeah, I've learned that ths disease in particular, this type of cancer is really dy to kids just like us.

So that shocked me and gavn Carolina's well and made us even more motivated to want give back to this certain cancer.

So, you know, Maria, give m back is really the common e of, you know, all of this.

And so what advice would yu for people who may find themselves in you know, the themselves in you know, thn provide mentorship and, you know, haven't made the jumn perhaps other Latinos Gamma Absolutely.

So.

Both Ryan I our first genetion born Americans, or families are from South America.

And my parents came here fa better opportunity for me d veto for my son.

And I challenge all of our community to take these and really think about all the blessings that we have her.

But because of what we hav, how important it is to give back.

And it gets start like I sd before, as simple as helpig out your family members mentoring your nephews and cousins.

But there are so many organizations and then Lehh Valley that need people who could just donate an hour r two of their time, their sl service organizations throughout our entire Lehih Valley when there's actuala collective of volunteer tht need your help.

So I say jump in that I do.

Iet a lot of my time becaue we not often have the resos and the finances to donate.

And there's this terminoloy called time, treasure and talent.

And it's what we can give k to our community.

And I look at our time as equally as important as our treasure.

And so I inspire and I hope that other people will jois in giving back an inspiring message.

Ryan, let me ask you this.

For people who do want to t involved.

What is the process like Ga How can they donate or hown they be supportive for your group?

Yeah.

So we have a bar code.

You guys can just scan and it'll take you right to car crushers donating site andt has a little file underneah that you guys can read.

And if you don't want to donate, there's also you cd post on your social media d spread our name out and.

Yeah.

Do you think you'll be doig this again in the future?

Probably.

Well, this is awesome work.

Very inspiring.

Thank you to you and your .

You know, it's really remarkable what you guys ae doing a such a young age.

I think Maria said it befoe when I was in high school.

I don't think I was doing anything remotely like thi.

So, you know, it's great to see, you know, more civic engagement.

What do you say, Maria?

Aymen, thank you so much fr the opportunity to highligt the good work that Rya Gabd Carolyn are doing.

Thanks.

Thank you both for your ti.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

I want to thank our St Luks University health network expert Amanda.

For more, Dr Sara mostly ad our other guests, Miamn Tero and Riya Kosa for beig with us today.

Bringing awareness to World Cancer Day is especially important to me, even moreo this week.

My father in law, Martin, s we call him below ahead, pd away on February seconds surrounded by his entire fy after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer only a ce months ago.

He was a hard worker and devoted husband, father, grandfather, son and broth.

His family here in the US d in Honduras will miss him dearly.

Cancer knows no ethnicity, race, skin color, region or nation.

It is unfortunately a disee that impacts families acros the entire world.

If there is a medical subjt you'd like for us to cover.

Send me a message on social media.

You can find me on Facebood Instagram and you can tunen to hear more of my reportin 91.3 WLVT News, your localR News source.

I'm Gen. Ortega.

And from all of us here at Lehigh Valley Public Media.

Stay safe.

Be healthy.

Be kind.

And cheers to your health.