Now, working at Merck he has seen cancer drug development from almost every possible side

From the NCI he entered the US FDA rising to be Deputy Director of the Cancer Drug Program where his rigorous, consistent, detail oriented approach made him a delight to interact with

Gideon Blumenthal grew up immersed in US government science. His parents were both NIH scientists and he took on his oncology training at the NCI

Started as a general oncologist and ended up a specialist- the opposite way of most. Later the pathway king, guiding behavior and prescribing nationally.

Mark Socinski grew up in Norman Rockwell land. Rural Vermont, choir boy, stone and marble family business

His insights into the true tale of society and disfigurement, of parenting or mentorship, of owning our creative efforts hidden in Mary Shelley’s classic are as much in everyday life as they are in my medical perspective.

It becomes a footnote in their life. It doesn’t take long before you just think here comes Doug and that’s the best thing in your day.

You can hear doug coming as he vocalizes with puffs and grunts all the time. You can see him coming as his arms and head and shoulders twitch and spasm all the time. But, just like any diagnosis, once you know the person their headline grabbing diagnosis fades.

Doug Ney is many things. A neurologist, an oncologist who specializes in brain cancers, one of the kindest and most patient people I know and, as a footnote in his life once you get to know him, someone affected by Tourette’s Syndrome. The real kind not the TV version shorthand for swearing a lot

For those of you who haven’t figured this out yet. The files come out about a year after the broadcast. The immediate release get some chat from me to but they are more first impressions than reflections.

Yes like a safari park for adoptable cats

Finally we have to draw distinction between association and causation- liver Mets aren’t the promise that death is coming. There are multiple individual exceptions to associating A with B. The research starts here it doesn’t end here

Do we need liver vs non liver progression endpoints in trials? This is assessable now in retrospect. Do we need to look at biopsies from liver vs other sites

Is the liver just a manifestation of non drug level related resistance- ie biological change. Would it be the same with any other site of extracranial disease or is the liver something different? That is still to be determined and if it is different then, like the brain, we need to look more

The brain story reflects improved attention paid to the cns in drug selection and trial design addressing the elephant in the room of drug penetration into brain (plus some new breakthroughs coming).