#387: Are We Finally Winning Against Cancer? Dr. Patrick on IL-15, NK Cells & The Pandemic of Cancer

Cancer is not a foreign invader. It is a failure of defense.  

In this episode, Dr. Patrick Soon- Shiong , surgeon, scientist, inventor and one of the most influential figures in modern medicine, lays out a radical idea: your body already knows how to defeat cancer. The question is whether we are activating it… or suppressing it.  

Born in apartheid South Africa and driven by what he calls a duty to fight for the underdog, Dr. Soon- Shiong  went from performing complex surgeries in Los Angeles to inventing Abraxane, a breakthrough nanoparticle chemotherapy now used worldwide. But he believes chemotherapy was only chapter  one,  Chapter two is immunity.  

He breaks down the role of the 450 million year old Natural Killer cell and why it may be the missing piece in cancer prevention, then dives into IL-15, once ranked the most promising molecule to cure cancer and now approved in 33 countries, with new ground in lung cancer treatment in Saudi Arabia.  

Dr. Soon- Shiong  also shares his warning of a coming "pandemic of cancer," the controversy around COVID vaccine development, the overlooked $10 blood test hidden inside routine labs that predicts mortality risk, and how camel nanobodies, AI and robotics may democratize treatments that once cost $1 million.  

If you care about longevity, cancer prevention, or the future of medicine, this episode matters.  

 

Timestamps:  

00:00 – First impressions of the Middle East and the crisis of trust  

08:17 – What cancer really is and the role of the Natural Killer cell  

14:08 – The w