As Breast Cancer Awareness Month nears its end and the election looms, healthcare is top of people's minds. It became a focal point during Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court hearings as the Affordable Care Act waits for another day in court.
As the CEO of Susan G. Komen, Paula Schneider, a breast cancer survivor herself, told Cheddar's Opening Bell, "People need to care that their healthcare is one of the most important rights that they should have."
During the same interview, journalist Katie Couric, founder of Katie Couric Media, also called healthcare an essential right saying, "if you have a system that isn't open to people, it's just blatantly, terribly, un-American."
The National Cancer Institute estimates that as of January 2019, there are 16.9 million cancer survivors in the United States. This represents approximately 5 percent of the population, and that number of cancer survivors is projected to increase by nearly 30 percent, to nearly 22 million, by 2029.
Now amid the pandemic, people are delaying screening and routine care with a sharp drop in screenings and cancer diagnoses this year. According to a recent JAMA study, breast cancer diagnoses alone saw a 51.8 percent dip in March and April compared to previous years. According to Schneider, some reports show that drop being as large as 80 percent when it comes to breast cancer. "That doesn't mean it's not happening," she said. "It just means it's not being diagnosed, and therefore it's not being treated."
"Ladies get your mammograms."
As for Couric, she has faced the heartbreak of cancer within her own family. Her first husband Jay and her sister Emily both died following their battles with cancer. She said that one of the most important things a support system can do for a cancer patient is just to be there. "When Jay was sick he said having cancer is the loneliest experience in the world," Couric said.
That's part of the reason she partnered with pharmaceutical giant Merck for a new project called Your Cancer Story. The program provides information and support to cancer patients from diagnosis to treatment to survivorship. Couric said she wishes she had access to this kind of program for her own family years ago.
"You can see people talking about what they're going through. You can get advice. You can get guidance. You can get support," she explained. "Other survivors and other caregivers can talk about some of the things they wish they had known."
Nikhilesh De, managing editor of global regulation and policy at CoinDesk, joins Cheddar News to discuss Bitcoin's slump and corporations' growing interest in NFTs.
Thrive Market is a health-first membership for conscious living, with a mission to make healthy and sustainable living easy and accessible. Nick Green, CEO and co-founder, chatted with Cheddar's Baker Machado about the company's approach and new ventures in 2022. "I grew up outside of Minneapolis, middle class, middle America, and really saw firsthand how hard my mom had to work to put healthy food on the table, on a budget, without a health food store nearby," he said. "Twenty-some years later we looked around and just thought it was crazy that millions of Americans are still struggling with the same thing, and we decided to change it." Recently the brand released a line of organic frozen products and will be introducing new beauty and home brands.
In what could be the biggest deal in video games history, Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard underlines the company's aggressive push in gaming and beyond into its long-term vision of being top dog in the metaverse. Adam Hollander, former director of gamification at Microsoft and founder of Hungry Wolves NFT, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss. “Microsoft always plays chess, not checkers," he said, describing the price tag as an opportunity cost. "It's about integrating Activision Blizzard in with Azure and Windows and Xbox and Hololens and Minecraft and everything else that they're doing for the inevitable goal of being the major player in the next phase of the internet."
Jordan Zakarin, Media Producer at A More Perfect Union, joined Cheddar News to break down the latest from Colorado, where at least 8,700 Kroger employees walked off the job in demand of increased benefits and wages.
Food waste is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Strella Biotechnology is trying to solve the problem by introducing new technology to a business that's been around for generations -- farming. The 24-year-old CEO created hi-tech sensors that interpret the shelf life of produce and alert farmers when fruits and vegetables are ready to be sent to supermarkets. The company says the process can help farmers make money, reduce food waste and increase the quality of produce. Strella Biotechnology's co-founder and CEO Katherine Sizov and co-founder and COO Jay Jordan joined Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Norbu Tenzing, Vice President of the American Himalayan Foundation and the son of the first Sherpa to ever summit Everest, joins Cheddar Reveals to discuss how Sherpa's put themselves in danger for clients, and the dangers of Everest's 'Death Zone.'
Gordon Janow, Director of Programs at Alpine Ascents, joins Cheddar Reveals to discuss how to get mentally and physically prepared to climb Mount Everest.
Netflix may not be staying at the top of the streaming wars, according to some wary investors, as competition heats up and it raises prices yet again. Tuna Amobi, director and senior equity analyst at CFRA Research, spoke with Cheddar about what investors should be considering should they stick with the streaming pioneer or drop the investment. "I think it's always mostly about the subscriber growth for the Q4, which is going to be an indicator of how the company has been navigating the speed bumps that we saw early in the year," said Amobi.
