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."
Nadia Brown, actor and host of 'The Green Room with Nadia Brown,' and Jenny Makholm, executive producer of the show and co-founder of Be An #ArtsHero/Arts Workers United, join Cheddar News to talk about their new Ovation TV series.
Ben Strauss, sports and media reporter at the Washington Post, joins Cheddar News to recap round two of the NCAA Men's Tournament and what we can expect heading into the Sweet 16.
Actors Courtney B. Vance and Tosin Cole joined Cheddar News’ senior reporter Michelle Castillo at South by Southwest to talk about their new series “61st Street” on AMC. The show takes a look at the harshness of Chicago’s criminal justice system. When asked what he hopes the audience takes away from this show, Tosin Cole said, "Just some empathy and just showing a different perspective."
A recent survey from employment website Indeed and career growth platform Luminary found that at least half of women are considering a change to their careers over issues of unequal compensation and upward mobility as compared to men. Cate Luzio founder and CEO of Luminary, and Abbey Carlton, Indeed's global head of social impact, joined Cheddar News to talk about the study and working for women to push more self-advocacy. "I think the silver lining here is that women are in a moment where they can renegotiate the terms of work. And we're seeing that in this survey, women are thinking about what is my next step and what do I need in that next step. And compensation is right at the top of the list there,” said Carlton.
A new coalition called "Organizations For Pay Equity Now", or "OPEN" imperative, has launched with the goal of eliminating the gender pay gap among pre-IPO startups by 2027. More than 200 founders, CEOs and investors have already joined the coalition -- and it's only expected to grow. Emily Sweet, Lead of the OPEN imperative, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the new coalition and how it plans to achieve these ambitious goals.
Netflix launching a test to let primary account holders pay an extra fee for users outside their households. This comes as the streaming giant grapples with illicit password-sharing with over 30 percent of all Netflix users sharing their password with at least one person, according to research firm Magid.
Pedro Palandrani, Director of Research at GlobalX joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Ukraine's Mariupol refuses to surrender to Russian forces, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was hospitalized, and a cyclist took on the Freedom Convoy in DC. Here is all the news you Need2KNow for Monday, March 21, 2022.
Neonvest is a platform connecting startups and entrepreneurs with experts in the VC space. The startup says it's in the process of raising a seed round of approximately $2.5 million from a mix of angel and institutional investors. Aakash Shah, co-founder of NeonVest, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
