Q&A WITH THE
FOUNDER & CHIEF
MISSION OFFICER
Kathy Giusti, multiple myeloma patient and Founder of the MMRF,
was recently appointed Chief Mission Officer. She speaks about
her new role, what that means to the foundation and how to bring
a community together to drive toward cures.
What is your focus as Chief Mission Officer?
My role as Chief Mission Officer is to ensure the MMRF remains
laser focused on our mission — to accelerate cures for all patients
— and invest every dollar wisely to achieve our goals. As science
and technology advance, business plans must take full advantage
of new opportunities, from genomic sequencing to artificial
intelligence or “AI,” to immunotherapies. We constantly evaluate
our portfolio to move the best ideas forward.
You’re a vocal advocate of collaboration. Why?
Collaboration has always been a top priority at the MMRF.
We’ve worked very closely with partners in the biotech and
pharmaceutical industries, academia and the cancer community
at large, and in doing so, we’ve seen great results — 10 new
treatments that have almost tripled patients’ lifespans. We believe
this same collaborative approach can be used to advance precision
medicine and its promise of a cure. We must consistently find the
“sweet spot” where all partners of the complex ecosystem align
incentives to create speed.
You’re also an advocate for data sharing. Why?
Precision treatments and cures cannot be developed or found
without studying massive amounts of patient data. This requires
data sharing at multiple levels. Patients must be willing to share
their data and this fall, the MMRF will be launching an online
registry that allow patients to very easily do so. Each individual
patient’s data set is valuable and powerful in optimizing care.
Data is even more powerful when aggregated because it helps
researchers see the patterns that drive risk or response.
What advice do you have for patients?
Science is moving fast. There is no way every oncologist can stay
up to speed on every cancer, every subtype, every risk factor. Be
a partner with your doctors. Study your disease, your subtype,
and most importantly, your treatment options, including clinical
trials. Ask your doctor questions and share your experiences. Stay
connected with the MMRF because we are focused on making
sure every patient has exactly what they need to optimize their
outcome in this era of precision medicine.
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