About this episode

Kenny Perkins interviews Dr. Shruti Patel about the rising rates of early-onset colorectal cancer and the factors contributing to this trend.

In this episode of All Talk Oncology, host Kenny Perkins speaks with Dr. Shruti Patel, a GI medical oncologist from Stanford University, about the rising rates of early-onset colorectal and GI cancers and what they mean for patients today. Dr. Patel explains why more younger patients are being diagnosed, explores possible contributing factors like lifestyle and environmental changes, and emphasizes that there is no single cause of cancer. She also breaks down how clinical trials work, why patient advocacy matters, and how resources like clinicaltrials.gov can help guide treatment decisions. The conversation also dives into survivorship care and why life after cancer should be viewed as “life with a cancer history,” highlighting the ongoing physical, emotional, and financial challenges patients may face. In this episode, Dr. Patel discusses: The rising rates of early-onset colorectal and GI cancers Why younger patients are increasingly being diagnosed Possible contributing factors (diet, lifestyle, environmental influences) Why no single “smoking gun” explains cancer development How clinical trials work (Phase I, II, and III differences) Why patients should use clinicaltrials.gov…

People in this episode

Host: Kenny Perkins

Guest: Dr. Shruti Patel

Topics covered

• colorectal cancer
• early-onset cancer
• GI cancers
• patient advocacy
• clinical trials
• survivorship care

Keywords

• colorectal cancer
• GI cancers
• early-onset
• clinical trials
• patient advocacy
• survivorship
• lifestyle factors
• environmental influences

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Stanford University

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