Today, millions of people are living with cancer or have had cancer. One in every three women and one out of every two men in America alone will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. “Statistically, cancer isn’t someone else’s problem, it’s all of our problem,” said Pulitzer-Prize winning author and oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee.

In this wide-ranging interview with journalist Dean Nelson, Dr. Mukherjee describes himself as a “sober optimist” about the future of cancer research as he urges the entire community to demand more public support for cancer therapies, treatments and prevention.

This presentation was part of the UC San Diego Helen Edison Lecture series and moderated by Dean Nelson of Point Loma Nazarene University.

Watch all programs in the series Overthrowing the Emperor of All Maladies: Moving Forward Against Cancer.

Watch this and other programs featuring Siddhartha Mukerhjee.

To view more of Dean Nelson’s Writer’s Symposium by the Sea series, visit