Karen Knudsen MBA PhD’s Post

Tomorrow, the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means will mark-up the bipartisan Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) Screening Coverage Act, which would ensure that Medicare enrollees have access to #MCED tests once approved by the FDA and clinical benefit is shown. “In 2024, more than 2 million Americans are expected to be diagnosed with cancer, and over 1 million of those cases are expected to be diagnosed in individuals over the age of 65...We urge Congress to pass the #MCEDAct to ensure access to early detection for our most vulnerable communities and save lives.” -Dr. Karen Knudsen MBA PhD, CEO of the American Cancer Society and ACS CAN Read the full statement:

This week my colleagues and I visited the AstraZeneca Hope Lodge in Boston, a place offering a free home away from home for #cancer patients and their caregivers. It was deeply rewarding to hear and see how this community is providing much-needed support for people while they are receiving cancer care in Boston. It was also emotional to witness two patients ring the bell, signifying the end of their therapy, and to meet one of the first women enrolled in one of our studies. As part of our long-standing relationship with the American Cancer Society, AstraZeneca funded the development of this Hope Lodge, which opened in 2008, to support our commitment to ensuring equitable access to cancer care services. We’ve continued to support the Lodge in many ways with a goal to make the experience of those staying there a bright spot during an incredibly difficult time. It’s important to remember that holistic cancer care includes more than just medicines and a treatment plan. Things like a convenient place to stay during treatment can also help enable more equitable access to cancer care and may even improve outcomes. It’s visits like this that remind us why we do the work we do. Thank you so much for hosting us Karen Knudsen MBA PhD, Mark Goldberg, Jennifer Lombardo, Louise Santosuosso, Chris Thomas, Michael Duff.

ACS CAN and over a dozen #PublicHealth organizations applaud today's decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to uphold the critical patient protections in the #AffordableCareAct for the vast majority of individuals covered. This decision by the Fifth Circuit protects continued, broad access to cost-free preventive services for more than 150 million eligible individuals, and specifically notes amicus briefs such as the one filed by our groups, providing scientific data on the importance of #PreventiveServices. We know coverage of recommended preventive services without cost-sharing has saved millions of lives from chronic diseases like cancer. cc: American Cancer Society, American Kidney Fund, Arthritis Foundation, CancerCare, Cancer Support Community, Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Epilepsy Foundation, Hemophilia Federation of America, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, National Minority Quality Forum, National MS Society, National Patient Advocate Foundation, The AIDS Institute, WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease Read the full statement:

Today, on June 18, join me in celebrating the 18 million cancer survivors living in the US. Help fund more cancer research, advocacy, and direct patient support to help more people survive cancer. Support American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) and the American Cancer Society Cancer at https://lnkd.in/eVAdKq_K #EveryCancerEveryLife #CancerSurvivors

I'm thrilled to share news about the Color Copilot, which we developed in partnership with OpenAI. WSJ exclusive: https://lnkd.in/gu3k67Gc  OpenAI's post: https://lnkd.in/gf7DbRqv Color’s blog post: https://lnkd.in/ga4Q635h Through our work with 7mm patients & American Cancer Society, we've seen the impact of access firsthand. Simply put: Healthcare being available doesn’t make it accessible. Making services and information accessible at the right time often outweighs anything else we can do. Our bet is that the GenAI revolution is the biggest opportunity to improve access and immediacy to critical health information & services. Rather than going broad, we started by going deep scaling the ability of clinicians to support a few specific, but highly impactful use cases/scenarios that are constrained by access to experts. Read all about our work through the links above and reach out to us at copilot@color.com if you take care of cancer patients or are interested in the space and would like to find out more!