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I’m Dr. Rob Winn and you're listening
to Real Cancer Talk

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from VCU Massey
Comprehensive Cancer Center.

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This is it.

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A grand
day to be in the land of the living.

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This is a day of no copay
and no white coats.

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Welcome to Community Conversations

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with my very special guest, Doctor
Robert Winn.

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Always keeping us in a win win situation

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of the VCU Massey
Comprehensive Cancer Center.

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Doctor Winn, how are you?

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You know what?

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Wherever I'm with you, I am good.

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Absolutely.

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And we also have Doctor Andrew Poklepovic,

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Associate Director for Clinical Research.

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How are you doing?

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I'm having a great one, and I'm
looking forward to the conversation.

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All right, let's delve right in now.

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This is something.

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And we're going to dispel
the myths about what is a clinical trial?

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Oh there's that quote. Yes. Right.

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I like I'm going in. Go right ahead.

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Oh, yes.

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Just like that.
We talk about clinical trials.

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It's important for people out there
who are hearing this to understand that.

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Listen, you know, as an African-American,
man and physician

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and scientist,
I clearly understand all of history.

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There's no doubt we got Tuskegee.

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There's no doubt
that there's been some trickery

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and some other things like that
throughout the century.

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But here's but here's the deal.

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The truth of the matter is, as a result of
those things, things are better today.

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So when I think about a clinical trial,
what here's what I here's

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what we don't do at clinical trials
in in the context of cancer.

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We don't take away your medicine
and give you an experimental drug.

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So y'all need to stop all that craziness.

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Second, when you reach the end
of the standard of care,

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the standard of actual care
is to offer you a clinical trial.

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In fact,

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we now know that the clinical trials
that we offer now are only an extension

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of care.

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By the way, you know,

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where we talk about, you know, changes
that have happened in the last 20 years.

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There used to be a time where women
who had advanced breast cancer, we just

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we gave them a story about people
with advanced lung

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cancer would have a story about,
hey, have you got [...] well.

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We don’t stop there.

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If somebody comes in with their head
all hung up for what

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we've got things
we can give now, immunotherapy.

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We got different drugs, we can give you.

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And you know where those drugs came from?

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They came from actually understanding
that when we are running clinical trials,

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we are putting our new drugs out there
and seeing how they work.

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When it comes to the African-American
community, you know Sister Clo,

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the reality is,
if we ain't in those trials,

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sometimes the medicines that work,
we don't know how they work on us,

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but we need to get rid of all that “be
an experiment on you.”

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And you know that Doctor TikTok and Doctor
Google got you all tripped up.

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Not Doctor
Google and Doctor TikTok...Doctor Winn,

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I want to stress this also always like to
create this vision and giving an example.

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Remember back in the day
when folks would have headaches,

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you had to take all of these elixirs
to try to get rid of this headache.

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But then you start the clinical trials
and there goes

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some of your top brands to end headaches.

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That was all a part
of a clinical trial as well.

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And you know, when a person get
a headache, you want an extra strength.

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Whatever that brand is.

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You know, it.

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By the way, for our community, it
also goes with all that high blood sugar.

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You know, that how you get that

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what they say to high blood sugar, okay,
that it's up to the high blood pressure.

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All those drugs actually came
because we understood how they worked.

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And then once we found out how they work,
then we released that to everybody.

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So, you know, the whole thing about, you
know, and to me, and again, I understand.

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Because as African-Americans
and minority communities

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and rural communities,
we as a, as a system must be straight up.

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The system has not always been kind.

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But here's the deal.

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If you don't let go of that, the past,
the past will ultimately bring you down,

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that's like a bad relationship.

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How you get to bad relationships.

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If you don't carry the baggage
on to your next one,

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you ain't 1 or 2 a good, you know,
good man or woman that you walk, but

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you carry all them ghosts from the past,
so you messed up the next one.

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That's what we've got a situation
now where we understand the past,

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but we gotta move from that
because there's some good stuff happening.

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For real, for real.

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And you want folks healed.

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That's what we've been talking about
going on almost two years now.

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What is a clinical trial?

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Let's break it down.

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As you said, help determine
if a new treatment, drug, device is safe.

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Effective, has fewer side effects.

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So, Doctor Poklepovic,
I want you to come on over

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and talk
about what a clinical trial is not.

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A clinical trial is not just

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a test on somebody
to kind of see what happens.

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You know, clinical trials
now of modern medicines

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are built upon years,
sometimes ten years worth of science

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to really understanding, you know,
how does the disease work?

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What is the disease susceptible to?

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How can we find the best medicine

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to go after the weakness of that disease?

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So the sophistication
that we have in, in modern

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medical therapy
now is really, really moving the bar.

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So that, you know, as an example
for the clinical trials

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that we've been doing over

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the last ten years,
we've seen cancer survival rate increase

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over the last ten years

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to the greatest improvements that
we've had in the survival rate of cancer

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because of all of these new medicines
that are being figured out

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for each different type of cancer.

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And so the way we have to ask
that is we say,

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what is the best thing that we have
for a patient today?

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And what can we do to make that better?

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Can we add a new medicine?

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Can we add something

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that will reduce the side effects
so somebody can tolerate the standard

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medicine better?

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What can we do to improve
on the current standard.

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And then we offer people
the current standard treatments

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and then we offer them more than that.

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We offer the standard plus
so that you get access

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to the new treatment,
the new promise of a better tomorrow.

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And that is how we design
treatment trials for cancer.

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We also have screening trials.

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You know,

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we know that women are supposed
to get mammograms,

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that men and women
are supposed to get colonoscopies.

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We know that
because we learned from trials

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that we can find cancers earlier
and save lives by early detection.

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And so every type of way you can go
after improving the outcome from cancer,

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from getting the standard of care,
plus tomorrow's treatment today,

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getting a early detection
with the cancers easier to remove,

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we're finding a way
to get through your treatments

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so that you can tolerate it and have it
not be a big impact on your life,

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and still have the outcome that you want.

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Those are all the ways that we design
our trials to move the field forward.

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Well, thank you so much for that.

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Now, today's topic for folks who are just
joining us is clinical trials,

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tomorrow's cancer treatments
available today.

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Now why is diversity in clinical trials

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so important, Doctor Poklepovic?

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Well, you want to be able to offer
treatments to everybody.

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You know in the community,
people from all over the world.

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As it relates to people from Asia, people
from Africa, people

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from South America, people from North
America, people with mixed heritage.

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You know, there was about 20 years ago,
there was a period in time

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where we thought that there was
a lung cancer drug that was specifically

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beneficial in Asian women from Japan
who didn't smoke cigarets.

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We didn't understand why we hadn't yet
figured it out.

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But it was the first signal
that there was a difference.

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And what we learned
was that there is some Japanese heritage

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where there is a particular type of broken
gene in a cancer

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that shows up more often, 
in that group of people.

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And, but it still shows up everywhere
else as well.

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So by expanding the diversity,
they figured out

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what was that
weakness of that type of lung cancer.

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And now we have an international test
to look for that weakness.

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And if there's a weakness there,
then people all over the world

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get access to that.

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And you learn that
by having as much diversity as possible,

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because there are some differences
in the way people process medications

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and, you know, plus where they come from
and their background and what they've had

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access to and how that influences
the health of where they're at today.

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So you can't do anything
without trying to offer it

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to everyone and having as representative
a group as possible.

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And we need as much research as possible
so we can get treatment.

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The best treatment
to folks of all backgrounds.

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Exactly. That's very important to do.
Hundred percent.

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Yes. We're going to take a break
and come on back.

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We have to talk about clinical trials
at Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center

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and Minority/Underserved NCI Community
Oncology Research Program.

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Stay close.

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This is Community Conversations.

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I am Community Clo.

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Welcome back to Community Conversations.

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I am Community Clo
and my very special guest star,

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the director of the VCU
Massey Cancer Center.

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We're in a win win situation with Doctor
Robert Winn.

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How are you?

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You know what?

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I'm turning it all the way up. I’m good!

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Wow. We are talking

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about clinical trials,
tomorrow's cancer treatments available

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today, and we're dispelling the myths
for the whole world.

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And in particular, folks
who look like you and me.

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You know, that skin tone type.

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First of all, for everybody, that might be
it is on their way somewhere,

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picking up some groceries
or on their way in a beauty shop

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or the barber shop,
you know what I’m saying.

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You know, people go [...],
we want to keep it real.

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Well, real means you actually have
to actually understand facts too, right?

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There’s something called objective facts,
whether you want to believe it or not.

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And I understand it's harder now
because most people get their information

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in a little bubble.

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You know, you get it from your
you know, your dude down on the corner

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who actually saw someone on a TikTok video
and, you know, talk about truth.

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Well, i’m going to be straight up.

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I actually think that as a people,
we have to get more.

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Actually, I'm going to use the word
much more serious about understanding

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what is hearsay and what is fact.

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In fact, you know, someone said to me
the other day that, you know,

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I was in a cab, Uber cab,
but the man popped off and said, yo,

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now Doc, tell me the truth.

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You know,

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y'all got the miracle for cancer,
but y’all just trying to make money.

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You know, I said, how’d you know,
I said how’d you know?

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He looked stunned.

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And I said,
because the miracle is out there, right?

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People are getting it.

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You not getting it,
but people are getting it.

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But it's hiding in plain sight.

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And part of this is to educate people
that when they come to a doctor,

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they primary care doctor, they come in
cancer doc and they say, doc, what?

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You know,
because the trials ain't going to happen.

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We need to ask people and we as a, as a,
as a group of people, clinicians.

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I’m going to say, mea culpa.

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But we have not always
particularly came to minority or rural.

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Or poor people said, hey, you know,
you said you reach the standard of care

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and you ought to think
about clinical trials.

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We usually make these crazy assumptions
that they can't take you.

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I'm going to flip the script
and tell people that when they meet their

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first doctor on day one,

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they want to say, Doc,
if this don't work, what else you got?

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And what are the trials?

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That ought to be the national language,
of Hope.

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Absolutely.

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And that's why I'm so glad we have
this show to talk about, just that.

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Now, Doctor Poklepovic,
let's talk about the clinical trials

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at Massey Cancer Center.

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Give us those numbers.

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Sure, sure.

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So we have a lot of clinical trials
across the cancer center.

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That cover everything from

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how we diagnose the cancer.

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We have something known
as an early detection blood test.

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Right.

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Because the first place that you can find
cancer is before

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anybody has a symptom related to cancer.

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And so if you have that,
then you can find a stage one cancer.

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Somebody can have a surgery
and they move along.

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And so we have what is called
a multi cancer early detection blood test.

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At the very very beginning.

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And this is for somebody without a cancer.

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Well we hope to have in the future

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that people go to their primary doctor
once a year and they get a cancer blood

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test for screening, for cancer screening
for 50 different kinds of cancers.

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And then, you know, they get diagnosed,
they get the treatment,

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and they move on with life
without ever having to worry about

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some of the more intensive treatments
that come with later stage cancer.

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And that's called the Pathfinder 2 Trial,
and that's available at Massey.

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And we're doing some community
outreach, sessions

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to try to get out to everybody
and bring the test to them.

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And it's a great opportunity.

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Then we have cancer
specific clinical trials.

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So, you know, there are some trials
that are specifically

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for somebody with breast cancer.

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There are some trials specifically for
somebody with lung cancer or colon cancer.

00;13;07;08 - 00;13;09;17
And we make sure
that we have clinical trials

00;13;09;17 - 00;13;13;18
for every type of cancer
that comes through our cancer center,

00;13;13;26 - 00;13;17;05
so that everybody who comes through
the center has an opportunity

00;13;17;15 - 00;13;20;09
to not only get standard of care,
but get access

00;13;20;09 - 00;13;23;16
to new treatments
that aren't available other places yet.

00;13;24;00 - 00;13;27;22
And then we have a collection
of clinical trials that are focused

00;13;27;22 - 00;13;30;22
on improving the quality of life
that people go through treatment

00;13;30;28 - 00;13;34;21
to prevent side effects like nerve damage
and nausea and things of that nature.

00;13;34;24 - 00;13;36;04
And you're doing all you can.

00;13;36;04 - 00;13;37;24
And I know Doctor Winn.

00;13;37;24 - 00;13;40;03
He believes in not remission.

00;13;40;03 - 00;13;41;26
He wants you cured.

00;13;41;26 - 00;13;46;03
And I think with this blood test
where you can detect multiple cancers

00;13;46;03 - 00;13;51;02
if you haven't been, diagnosed
with cancer, I think this is great.

00;13;51;29 - 00;13;55;12
So, first of all, I was going to say
that we're doing this at Massey.

00;13;55;12 - 00;13;57;19
But, we'd like come straight up WuTang.

00;13;57;19 - 00;14;01;01
so what I mean by that
is that as an NCI designated cancer,

00;14;01;01 - 00;14;04;06
there are 72 of us right now
in the country and 54, 50,

00;14;04;10 - 00;14;07;28
55 of us or something like that,
that our comprehensive cancer centers.

00;14;08;05 - 00;14;10;25
So when people say, well, what
what does it matter?

00;14;10;25 - 00;14;13;08
We get them trials. And that's national.

00;14;13;08 - 00;14;15;22
So to be honest with you,
we're doing these at Massey.

00;14;15;22 - 00;14;18;20
But we also want to let you know that some
some things are going to be done

00;14;18;20 - 00;14;19;24
just at Massey.

00;14;19;24 - 00;14;22;03
But some things we're doing
in partnerships

00;14;22;03 - 00;14;25;24
with everybody around the country,
from West Coast to East Coast

00;14;26;08 - 00;14;28;24
to the Midwest, to the South, to wherever.

00;14;28;24 - 00;14;29;16
And what I love

00;14;29;16 - 00;14;32;18
about being a cancer center director
at an NCI designated cancer center

00;14;32;24 - 00;14;36;22
is that when you come to me, you also are
connected to the other cancer centers.

00;14;36;22 - 00;14;42;23
And so we're bringing you a whole bunch
of, I think, potentially positive,

00;14;43;24 - 00;14;44;21
therapies.

00;14;44;21 - 00;14;46;23
Not only now, but for the future.

00;14;46;23 - 00;14;47;13
Massey’s north...

00;14;47;13 - 00;14;50;09
It's, know, we're all in this together's
one team.

00;14;50;09 - 00;14;51;08
It's one fight.

00;14;51;08 - 00;14;54;29
You know, everybody
that is a cancer researcher.

00;14;55;00 - 00;14;58;28
We are all driven by developing ways

00;14;58;28 - 00;15;01;08
to have an answer for the next person
that comes to the door.

00;15;01;08 - 00;15;04;08
I got something that can help you,
you know, and we are just,

00;15;04;25 - 00;15;08;12
you know, committed to that principle
of working together,

00;15;08;29 - 00;15;11;29
you know, asking good questions,
coming up with good ideas

00;15;12;04 - 00;15;16;03
and collaborating across the country,
nationally and internationally

00;15;16;22 - 00;15;20;14
to, you know, move the needle forward
as fast as possible.

00;15;21;12 - 00;15;25;23
And if you would like to go
to a comprehensive cancer center or

00;15;25;27 - 00;15;29;29
a VCU Massey Cancer Center, you can get a
you can get a full physical there.

00;15;30;08 - 00;15;33;16
Last year
I had to get a test done, my mammogram,

00;15;33;25 - 00;15;38;05
and I went to VCU Massey Cancer Center
because Doctor Robert Winn says

00;15;38;05 - 00;15;41;09
you don't have to be diagnosed with cancer
to go

00;15;41;09 - 00;15;44;09
to a cancer center for service.

00;15;44;14 - 00;15;46;27
Come on now.
Prevention is part of the care.

00;15;46;27 - 00;15;47;22
You know what I'm saying?

00;15;47;22 - 00;15;50;21
We you know, we want a treat,
but we also want to actually have people

00;15;50;21 - 00;15;53;16
that we don't have to give a dogon
medicine to, believe it or not.

00;15;53;16 - 00;15;54;09
Yeah.

00;15;54;09 - 00;15;58;07
You can actually discuss ways
on what to do lifestyle changes.

00;15;58;07 - 00;16;01;09
That's very important
if we can prevent the cancer.

00;16;01;10 - 00;16;02;18
But in the event that we can’t...

00;16;02;18 - 00;16;04;10
You know
its all that pigs-feet and chitlins.

00;16;04;10 - 00;16;05;23
Prevent the cancer. Ourselves.

00;16;05;23 - 00;16;08;01
Yeah, the clinical trials,
that's what we have.

00;16;08;01 - 00;16;12;00
Now, let's talk about Massey's minority,
undeserved NCI Community Oncology

00;16;12;00 - 00;16;13;03
Research Program.

00;16;13;03 - 00;16;15;12
This is very important to share.

00;16;15;12 - 00;16;15;26
Yeah.

00;16;15;26 - 00;16;19;18
So I think one of the things we love 
I love about being a cancer center

00;16;19;18 - 00;16;22;08
director at Massey
and working with folks like Dr.

00;16;22;08 - 00;16;25;18
Poklepovic, and others,
is that we don't believe that it's

00;16;26;00 - 00;16;27;24
the responsibility to people to get to us.

00;16;27;24 - 00;16;30;17
So we've are figuring out
ways of how to get to them.

00;16;30;17 - 00;16;35;22
So Massey is one of 14 of the NCI
designated National Cancer Institute

00;16;35;22 - 00;16;39;24
designated centers in the country
that actually partner with communities

00;16;40;06 - 00;16;43;24
to actually bring clinical trials out
to where folks live.

00;16;44;02 - 00;16;45;19
So the thing I'm most proud of about

00;16;45;19 - 00;16;47;29
we are not only just trying
to chop it up in our shop

00;16;47;29 - 00;16;49;12
where, you know, we come up with some,

00;16;49;12 - 00;16;51;26
you know, the big miracle drugs
and have you get to us.

00;16;51;26 - 00;16;53;28
We're like,
we believe in this so much that

00;16;53;28 - 00;16;57;16
this is a part of the standard of care
and an extension of care,

00;16;57;21 - 00;17;00;21
that we are working
with community hospitals

00;17;00;21 - 00;17;03;25
to bring some of our trials out to them
so that they can, again,

00;17;03;26 - 00;17;06;26
benefit folks out in the community
that we may not even see.

00;17;07;01 - 00;17;07;28
This is important.

00;17;07;28 - 00;17;10;26
And Massey is one of only 14 awardees.

00;17;10;26 - 00;17;16;02
National Cancer Institute grant enables
Massey to extend clinical trial options

00;17;16;02 - 00;17;19;20
not only across Virginia,
but the nation as well as you did

00;17;19;20 - 00;17;22;28
mentioned Doctor Winn, and it gives
patients more treatment options

00;17;23;06 - 00;17;27;07
closer to home
or wherever they are across the nation.

00;17;27;07 - 00;17;31;18
So thank you so much for all that
you are doing in this space as well.

00;17;31;19 - 00;17;33;14
We're going to take another break
and come on back,

00;17;33;14 - 00;17;37;16
and we're going to talk about VCU, Massey
Comprehensive Cancer Center

00;17;37;19 - 00;17;41;18
and all of the great work
that you're doing, not only in Virginia

00;17;41;23 - 00;17;43;02
but around the world.

00;17;43;02 - 00;17;43;28
Stay close.

00;17;43;28 - 00;17;46;28
This is Community Conversations.

00;17;47;11 - 00;17;49;26
Welcome back to Community Conversations.

00;17;49;26 - 00;17;54;03
I am community CLO
and today's topic is clinical trials.

00;17;54;06 - 00;17;56;17
Tomorrow’s
cancer treatments available today.

00;17;56;17 - 00;17;58;05
And you know, I go to the source.

00;17;58;05 - 00;18;01;07
Joining me on
the show is Doctor Andrew Poklepovic.

00;18;01;15 - 00;18;06;08
Associate director for clinical trials
clinical research, and Doctor

00;18;06;08 - 00;18;11;14
Robert Winn, director of the VCU Massey
Comprehensive Cancer Center.

00;18;11;15 - 00;18;13;17
How are you doing, Doc and Doc?

00;18;13;17 - 00;18;15;05
Good. Having a great one.

00;18;15;05 - 00;18;16;11
You having a good one?

00;18;16;11 - 00;18;20;16
We want to talk about this VCU Massey
Comprehensive Cancer Center.

00;18;20;25 - 00;18;25;05
So Comprehensive Cancer
Center is the highest level of recognition

00;18;25;05 - 00;18;29;08
you can get for what you bring
to the table for your community

00;18;29;21 - 00;18;32;14
in advancing outcomes

00;18;32;14 - 00;18;35;14
and improvements
in the care for patients with cancer.

00;18;35;19 - 00;18;37;08
And it covers screening.

00;18;37;08 - 00;18;39;21
It covers engaging with your community.

00;18;39;21 - 00;18;42;17
It covers developing new treatment.

00;18;42;17 - 00;18;45;19
It covers taking treatments
and putting them into

00;18;45;19 - 00;18;48;26
clinical trials and offering them
to patients and improving their outcomes.

00;18;49;04 - 00;18;52;17
It covers every piece of the ladder.

00;18;52;22 - 00;18;56;14
It's going to get you to the top
of where you want to go for advancing

00;18;56;20 - 00;18;59;20
the treatment of cancer
and outcomes for patients with cancer.

00;18;59;21 - 00;19;03;16
And I've been at VCU almost 20 years
now, and we've been working

00;19;03;16 - 00;19;06;24
for years to grow
all of these different groups

00;19;07;01 - 00;19;10;23
within our cancer center
to make sure that we had

00;19;11;01 - 00;19;15;04
excellence levels
across each one of those items, to say

00;19;15;09 - 00;19;19;26
we are worthy of the recognition
as being one of the premier

00;19;20;07 - 00;19;23;05
research institutions in the country
and the world

00;19;23;05 - 00;19;26;12
for what we bring to the table
for advancing cancer care.

00;19;27;00 - 00;19;30;21
This is so amazing and true to life

00;19;30;28 - 00;19;34;25
when it comes to VCU Massey
Comprehensive Cancer Center.

00;19;35;09 - 00;19;40;13
You guys came out to an event
we had about over a year and a half ago,

00;19;40;19 - 00;19;44;15
and you brought an actual colon,
and then you had your representatives

00;19;44;15 - 00;19;47;09
to talk about what happens to the colon.

00;19;47;09 - 00;19;50;26
If it's if it's a good colon or if
we're having some issues and challenges.

00;19;50;26 - 00;19;52;27
So you're definitely in a community.

00;19;52;27 - 00;19;55;27
And I've never, ever seen
anything like that

00;19;55;27 - 00;19;59;01
when you're talking
about a comprehensive cancer center.

00;19;59;08 - 00;19;59;21
Yeah.

00;19;59;21 - 00;20;02;09
It was big. Either
big either big inflated colon.

00;20;02;09 - 00;20;04;15
But you know, the truth of the matter is.

00;20;04;15 - 00;20;06;26
Let me just say that.
It was a big inflated colon.

00;20;07;25 - 00;20;08;14
You're right.

00;20;08;14 - 00;20;10;29
Okay, okay.

00;20;10;29 - 00;20;13;18
But listen.

00;20;13;18 - 00;20;17;10
Well, you know, the cool part about that
is that it's part of this whole mission

00;20;17;10 - 00;20;21;22
that we have about demystifying
and breaking down barriers

00;20;22;07 - 00;20;25;29
to bring that excellence that we know
in science closer to the community.

00;20;26;08 - 00;20;29;07
And one of the ideas was to make sure
that we could

00;20;29;07 - 00;20;31;15
not only just talk to people,
but show people.

00;20;31;15 - 00;20;33;24
And then once you understand
what a polyp is

00;20;33;24 - 00;20;36;24
and by the way, when you understand
that the whole procedure

00;20;36;24 - 00;20;40;07
to get your colonoscopy, to be quick, I'm
talking straight up to the men and women.

00;20;40;07 - 00;20;42;29
It ain’t like women
like these colonoscopies either.

00;20;42;29 - 00;20;43;16
Mine coming up.

00;20;43;16 - 00;20;46;16
Up, all these brothers talk about
“I aint doing this.” But,

00;20;46;17 - 00;20;48;01
you know, the crazy thing is

00;20;48;01 - 00;20;51;29
you talk about a procedure
that only lasts 15 to 20 minutes

00;20;52;12 - 00;20;56;19
versus something that could take 15
to 20 years off your life.

00;20;56;19 - 00;20;58;24
If you get it.
That don't make no damn thing.

00;20;58;24 - 00;21;01;25
So we need to, as a community, stop
bucking up about these things.

00;21;01;25 - 00;21;03;14
So that's how we roll.

00;21;03;14 - 00;21;05;23
Early detection is key.

00;21;05;23 - 00;21;09;16
I'm just talking about a physical
or just a simple blood test.

00;21;09;23 - 00;21;11;04
Don't you agree, Doctor Winn?

00;21;11;04 - 00;21;14;21
Hey listen...any test
that you get is a good one.

00;21;14;21 - 00;21;15;10
That, you know,

00;21;15;10 - 00;21;19;02
when it comes to colorectal screening, it
don't always have to be the colonoscopy.

00;21;19;09 - 00;21;23;19
It could actually be your blood test
or the colo-guard, but just get tested.

00;21;23;19 - 00;21;26;22
Because unfortunately,
what we have with African-American men

00;21;26;26 - 00;21;29;00
and African-Americans in general
is that they're leading.

00;21;29;00 - 00;21;32;06
We as a people are still leading
the number one

00;21;32;06 - 00;21;35;25
cause, the number one group,
we die African Americans in general.

00;21;35;26 - 00;21;37;19
And you know who's not far behind?

00;21;37;19 - 00;21;40;20
People who live in rural areas, whether
you are white or black or whatever.

00;21;40;24 - 00;21;46;03
So we need to start really thinking about
our health in different ways as people.

00;21;46;03 - 00;21;49;03
And the bottom line is the screening
tests are getting easier.

00;21;49;04 - 00;21;50;13
They're getting safer.

00;21;50;13 - 00;21;53;13
So there's no excuse for people
not to get tested.

00;21;53;18 - 00;21;56;12
Well, and this is what I want to say
before we go.

00;21;56;12 - 00;21;59;12
A clinical trial is not dangerous.

00;21;59;14 - 00;22;01;23
Right, Doctor Poklepovic?

00;22;01;23 - 00;22;03;29
No, what’s dangerous is cancer.

00;22;03;29 - 00;22;08;03
And what these clinical trials are,
are ways

00;22;08;03 - 00;22;12;24
to reduce that danger
and find new ways to beat the disease.

00;22;13;14 - 00;22;16;13
And we're making progress every month.

00;22;16;14 - 00;22;17;19
Every year.

00;22;17;19 - 00;22;20;09
You see it
time and time again, year after year.

00;22;20;09 - 00;22;22;10
This is the inflection point

00;22;22;10 - 00;22;25;25
where we go from not having
a lot of answers for a lot of cancers

00;22;25;25 - 00;22;29;17
to having more and more and more answers,
and the way to be on that,

00;22;30;03 - 00;22;33;02
on that side of the curve
where you want to be, which is the future

00;22;33;03 - 00;22;37;03
where these diseases are more treatable,
more easily detected early,

00;22;37;11 - 00;22;41;06
is to be open to clinical trials
because we wouldn't bring something

00;22;41;16 - 00;22;45;24
to a cancer center that we wouldn't
want to bring our own family member to.

00;22;46;01 - 00;22;48;15
And that's how I look at clinical trials,
to screen them.

00;22;48;15 - 00;22;52;16
I say, is this a trial
that I would fly my mother up from Florida

00;22;52;23 - 00;22;55;19
to Virginia
so that I could get her access to this.

00;22;55;19 - 00;22;57;03
And, it passes the muster.

00;22;57;03 - 00;23;00;17
I wouldn't do anything here
at our cancer center that I wouldn't

00;23;00;17 - 00;23;03;29
want my family member,
to have access to if they needed it.

00;23;04;02 - 00;23;07;02
And that is my,
you know, my guiding light.

00;23;07;03 - 00;23;08;04
That was heartfelt.

00;23;08;04 - 00;23;09;27
Doctor Andrew Poklepovic.

00;23;09;27 - 00;23;14;01
Associate director for clinical research
at the VCU Massey

00;23;14;01 - 00;23;15;20
Comprehensive Cancer Center.

00;23;15;20 - 00;23;17;24
Man, y'all summing it up real good.

00;23;17;24 - 00;23;21;29
Doctor Winn, you got anything to add
to that health message?

00;23;22;04 - 00;23;26;18
Bottom line is, the first step to actually
making the goose step is knowledge.

00;23;26;18 - 00;23;28;28
And that's what we hope
we drop for you today.

00;23;28;28 - 00;23;32;02
This is in memory of,
you know, my heroes who've gone before,

00;23;32;02 - 00;23;33;28
like MCA from the Beastie Boys

00;23;33;28 - 00;23;36;08
and all the rest of the stuff
that the reality is, we're at a point

00;23;36;08 - 00;23;40;12
in time where cancer doesn't care,
where you've got money, don't got money.

00;23;40;12 - 00;23;41;22
Cancer don’t care if...

00;23;41;22 - 00;23;43;14
you’re black or you’re white.

00;23;43;14 - 00;23;44;18
It'll give you a rapper.

00;23;44;18 - 00;23;47;08
If you whatever. Cancer, it’s still dead.

00;23;47;08 - 00;23;48;17
It don't care. But we do.

00;23;48;17 - 00;23;49;12
And at Massey,

00;23;49;12 - 00;23;51;05
what we’re trying want to do,
is just to make sure

00;23;51;05 - 00;23;54;16
that we bring the knowledge
so that we can actually fight cancer,

00;23;54;22 - 00;23;58;03
because we only got one team, one fight,
and our fight is the fight against cancer.

00;23;58;03 - 00;23;59;11
So that's how we roll.

00;23;59;11 - 00;24;00;15
That's how we roll.

00;24;00;15 - 00;24;04;29
VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center
clinical trials.

00;24;04;29 - 00;24;08;08
Tomorrow's
cancer treatments available today.

00;24;08;20 - 00;24;10;28
Thank you, Doctor Robert Winn.

00;24;10;28 - 00;24;14;03
That's
how we're going to health all the way up.

00;24;14;12 - 00;24;19;04
This has been Community
Conversations, I am Community Clo.