WEBVTT - Collaborating with Big Businesses to Improve Sustainability

0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:03.360
<v Speaker 1>You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and

0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:07.840
<v Speaker 1>Tim Stenebek on Bloomberg Radio. It's an ugly truth out

0:00:07.840 --> 0:00:11.080
<v Speaker 1>there doing business, Carol, it's just not good for the environment.

0:00:11.520 --> 0:00:13.800
<v Speaker 1>In fact, more than half of greenhouse gas emissions in

0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:17.120
<v Speaker 1>the US come from two sources, transportation and industry. That's

0:00:17.120 --> 0:00:19.599
<v Speaker 1>according to the EPA, and those two things they're closely

0:00:19.640 --> 0:00:22.119
<v Speaker 1>tied together. After all, you've got to get what the

0:00:22.160 --> 0:00:25.480
<v Speaker 1>industry produces wherever it's going, and that takes planes, trains,

0:00:25.520 --> 0:00:27.840
<v Speaker 1>and automobiles, all which emit carbon.

0:00:28.800 --> 0:00:31.840
<v Speaker 2>The Environmental Defense Fund is a global nonprofit organization. It's

0:00:31.880 --> 0:00:35.960
<v Speaker 2>taking on climate change. It calls quote it the greatest

0:00:36.040 --> 0:00:39.280
<v Speaker 2>challenge of our time. And this organization works with companies

0:00:39.320 --> 0:00:42.880
<v Speaker 2>you know so well, Amazon, Walmart, Danone, Fedexge and more,

0:00:43.120 --> 0:00:45.760
<v Speaker 2>and it's all about reducing their impact on the environment.

0:00:46.040 --> 0:00:48.320
<v Speaker 2>Delighted to have with us Fred Krupp, he's president of

0:00:48.400 --> 0:00:51.240
<v Speaker 2>the EDF and he joins us on Zoom from San Francisco. Fred,

0:00:51.240 --> 0:00:53.920
<v Speaker 2>thanks so much for being with us. We are living

0:00:53.960 --> 0:00:56.240
<v Speaker 2>in a world where there's a lot being thrown at everyone,

0:00:56.760 --> 0:01:01.440
<v Speaker 2>global companies in particular when it comes certantly to our environment.

0:01:01.520 --> 0:01:03.880
<v Speaker 2>I feel like after a summer a year where I

0:01:03.880 --> 0:01:06.480
<v Speaker 2>feel like, once again we had superlatives when it comes

0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:09.319
<v Speaker 2>to the impact on our climate. Tell us a little

0:01:09.319 --> 0:01:11.360
<v Speaker 2>bit about the work you're doing, and more importantly, I

0:01:11.400 --> 0:01:13.280
<v Speaker 2>want to know about the progress that you feel like

0:01:13.440 --> 0:01:15.200
<v Speaker 2>companies are making or if they are.

0:01:17.360 --> 0:01:20.400
<v Speaker 3>But hey, thanks Carol, Thanks Tim. I appreciate the opportunity

0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:25.040
<v Speaker 3>to be with you the You know, companies are at

0:01:25.040 --> 0:01:29.040
<v Speaker 3>the center of a lot of the emissions and pollution

0:01:29.160 --> 0:01:31.520
<v Speaker 3>that we have, and so it just stands to reason

0:01:31.800 --> 0:01:36.280
<v Speaker 3>that they present a big opportunity to make progress. So

0:01:36.400 --> 0:01:40.720
<v Speaker 3>you asked, Carol, are we making progress? Absolutely, More and

0:01:40.800 --> 0:01:46.080
<v Speaker 3>more companies see tremendous value in cleaning up their businesses,

0:01:46.200 --> 0:01:52.200
<v Speaker 3>creating new products that are more sustainable or reduce greenhouse gases.

0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:55.760
<v Speaker 3>You can see that in the tremendous market cap at Tesla.

0:01:56.520 --> 0:01:58.800
<v Speaker 3>You can see that in companies that want to do

0:01:59.280 --> 0:02:03.560
<v Speaker 3>right by a climate in order to improve more employee

0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:08.320
<v Speaker 3>morale and their ability to hire employees. You know, many

0:02:08.360 --> 0:02:15.960
<v Speaker 3>companies now realize that their reputation, their character is judged

0:02:16.000 --> 0:02:18.720
<v Speaker 3>on the basis of whether they're a leader or a laggard.

0:02:18.840 --> 0:02:21.519
<v Speaker 3>So we're seeing a lot of companies right now, very

0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:26.360
<v Speaker 3>motivated to take big steps as opposed to you know,

0:02:26.520 --> 0:02:31.359
<v Speaker 3>cosmetic things or just spinning, spinning little things as though

0:02:31.360 --> 0:02:33.400
<v Speaker 3>they were big things that we saw so much of

0:02:33.680 --> 0:02:35.880
<v Speaker 3>right in years past and still see some now.

0:02:36.200 --> 0:02:38.160
<v Speaker 1>Hey, Fred, can you talk a little bit about the

0:02:38.200 --> 0:02:41.519
<v Speaker 1>strategy at the Environmental Defense Fund? I think people might

0:02:41.760 --> 0:02:44.000
<v Speaker 1>It's a nonprofit that's more than fifty years old at

0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:48.120
<v Speaker 1>this point, so I want to hear about the change

0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:51.480
<v Speaker 1>in strategy that you guys had, gosh, maybe about fifteen

0:02:51.560 --> 0:02:54.720
<v Speaker 1>years ago, where you went from suing the companies to

0:02:54.760 --> 0:02:57.520
<v Speaker 1>try to get them to change their behavior actually actively

0:02:58.000 --> 0:03:00.280
<v Speaker 1>partnering with them these days.

0:03:01.480 --> 0:03:04.359
<v Speaker 3>Yeah. So our original motto when we were founded with

0:03:04.480 --> 0:03:07.200
<v Speaker 3>sue the Bastards. I I don't think that was the

0:03:07.240 --> 0:03:10.800
<v Speaker 3>official motto, but that was a bit formally the motto.

0:03:11.560 --> 0:03:14.920
<v Speaker 3>And then we realized I think longer than fifteen years ago,

0:03:15.600 --> 0:03:20.280
<v Speaker 3>but we did realize that, you know, finding the ways

0:03:20.280 --> 0:03:25.800
<v Speaker 3>that work, you know, made more sense. And you know,

0:03:25.840 --> 0:03:30.720
<v Speaker 3>if we can, you know, without having to go to

0:03:30.760 --> 0:03:33.280
<v Speaker 3>the Senate or the Congress here in the United States

0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:36.119
<v Speaker 3>or legislatures around the world, if we can go directly

0:03:36.160 --> 0:03:39.800
<v Speaker 3>to Amazon and FedEx and help them to have more

0:03:39.840 --> 0:03:44.640
<v Speaker 3>electric trucks, or go to Dano, which has fifty five

0:03:44.840 --> 0:03:50.600
<v Speaker 3>thousand dairy farms that supply them, and work with them

0:03:51.240 --> 0:03:54.960
<v Speaker 3>to make an industry leading commitment to reduce the methane

0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:59.440
<v Speaker 3>emissions from their supply chains by thirty percent, not by

0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:03.840
<v Speaker 3>twenty five fifty, but by twenty thirty. You know that

0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:07.640
<v Speaker 3>change in strategy, Tim reflected the fact that you know,

0:04:07.960 --> 0:04:11.680
<v Speaker 3>sometimes just going to the folks and talking to them,

0:04:11.720 --> 0:04:15.120
<v Speaker 3>you can find a quicker way to a solution than

0:04:15.840 --> 0:04:16.960
<v Speaker 3>throwing bricks at them.

0:04:17.360 --> 0:04:20.040
<v Speaker 2>Fred help me out here though, Like you guys, as

0:04:20.080 --> 0:04:24.080
<v Speaker 2>a nonprofit right are reliant on donations, and I'm assuming

0:04:24.080 --> 0:04:27.600
<v Speaker 2>corporate donations as well, and I'm just wondering how do

0:04:27.680 --> 0:04:31.600
<v Speaker 2>you how do you do it and avoid conflict of

0:04:31.680 --> 0:04:35.480
<v Speaker 2>interest in terms of the financial support that comes in

0:04:35.520 --> 0:04:38.960
<v Speaker 2>perhaps from the corporate community that keeps you guys going,

0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:42.920
<v Speaker 2>as well as you know, making sure that you are

0:04:42.920 --> 0:04:47.080
<v Speaker 2>pursuing the toughest policy you can to protect the environment

0:04:47.320 --> 0:04:48.080
<v Speaker 2>with these entities.

0:04:48.120 --> 0:04:51.200
<v Speaker 3>At the same time, Hey, Carol, thanks for that question.

0:04:51.240 --> 0:04:54.760
<v Speaker 3>I should have quarified. Ninety nine percent of our funding

0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:59.240
<v Speaker 3>does not come from corporations. We occasionally will accept a

0:04:59.279 --> 0:05:01.560
<v Speaker 3>gift of there's a company that has a you know,

0:05:01.560 --> 0:05:06.800
<v Speaker 3>an employer match plan or something like that. But the

0:05:06.839 --> 0:05:11.599
<v Speaker 3>partners that I've mentioned, we've received no corporate funding from

0:05:11.720 --> 0:05:15.919
<v Speaker 3>Walmart or dan Own or Amazon or FedEx. So we

0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:20.040
<v Speaker 3>avoid that conflict of interest, you know, pretty effectively.

0:05:20.200 --> 0:05:23.040
<v Speaker 1>But do they pay you to partner with them?

0:05:24.040 --> 0:05:24.120
<v Speaker 4>No?

0:05:25.360 --> 0:05:27.560
<v Speaker 1>Wow, So talk a little bit about how that works.

0:05:28.800 --> 0:05:34.760
<v Speaker 3>The we get funded by individuals, by members who see

0:05:34.760 --> 0:05:40.240
<v Speaker 3>the value of kind of a different approach, and these

0:05:40.279 --> 0:05:45.039
<v Speaker 3>are you know, we have several hundred thousand members and

0:05:45.600 --> 0:05:48.880
<v Speaker 3>people that give us small donations, medium size and large

0:05:49.720 --> 0:05:52.279
<v Speaker 3>just because those of us who are concerned about climates

0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:55.600
<v Speaker 3>see an urgency and getting things done. So when they see,

0:05:56.279 --> 0:05:59.160
<v Speaker 3>you know, a partnership with Walmart to cut a billion

0:05:59.279 --> 0:06:02.440
<v Speaker 3>tons of ways and pollution, that's you know, tim, that's

0:06:02.440 --> 0:06:06.040
<v Speaker 3>the same amount as Germany admits in a year. When

0:06:06.080 --> 0:06:10.320
<v Speaker 3>they see that, they see that partnership achieving results, and

0:06:10.400 --> 0:06:14.680
<v Speaker 3>they understand why, you know, we don't want to take

0:06:14.760 --> 0:06:19.200
<v Speaker 3>money from the company to have that conflict of interest

0:06:19.320 --> 0:06:22.520
<v Speaker 3>to do that work. You know, people step up and say, hey,

0:06:22.520 --> 0:06:25.719
<v Speaker 3>we want to fund that. We like we like the

0:06:25.800 --> 0:06:28.279
<v Speaker 3>idea that you're getting results, and we see why you

0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:30.680
<v Speaker 3>want to have a measure of independence. And so that's

0:06:30.680 --> 0:06:34.680
<v Speaker 3>worked really well for us, those people in the you know,

0:06:35.240 --> 0:06:38.360
<v Speaker 3>environmentalists like myself. I hope I can include the two

0:06:38.360 --> 0:06:41.400
<v Speaker 3>of you. What we care most about is getting results.

0:06:41.480 --> 0:06:46.159
<v Speaker 3>And it's unconventional to work directly with companies but often

0:06:46.279 --> 0:06:49.799
<v Speaker 3>not always, but oftentimes it works. Just hasn't been tried

0:06:49.880 --> 0:06:50.520
<v Speaker 3>often enough?

0:06:51.000 --> 0:06:54.960
<v Speaker 2>Would you say no? Just full full of transparency. So

0:06:55.000 --> 0:06:58.480
<v Speaker 2>thank you for answering our questions, because we do have

0:06:59.040 --> 0:07:02.839
<v Speaker 2>listeners and viewers write in and be like, hey, but Fred,

0:07:03.040 --> 0:07:08.200
<v Speaker 2>do you find that because of greater regulation and oversight

0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:12.560
<v Speaker 2>and cop and goals, whether it's through Europe or through

0:07:12.560 --> 0:07:16.440
<v Speaker 2>the United States, that has made the corporate environment much

0:07:16.520 --> 0:07:20.200
<v Speaker 2>more open to being more aggressive when it comes to

0:07:20.840 --> 0:07:23.600
<v Speaker 2>climate goals. Is it about that or is it also

0:07:23.640 --> 0:07:27.840
<v Speaker 2>about that they're realizing their existence alone is also important

0:07:27.880 --> 0:07:29.120
<v Speaker 2>about protecting the environment.

0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:34.120
<v Speaker 3>Hey, another great question, thanks Carol. The it's a combination

0:07:34.240 --> 0:07:38.000
<v Speaker 3>of things. You know, everybody's got children. I now have

0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:41.240
<v Speaker 3>three grandchildren. So I think we all want to leave

0:07:41.280 --> 0:07:44.200
<v Speaker 3>the world better than we found it, and that includes

0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:46.800
<v Speaker 3>you know, many, not all, but many people who work

0:07:46.800 --> 0:07:52.040
<v Speaker 3>in companies. We need regulations. Working with companies alone is

0:07:52.080 --> 0:07:54.440
<v Speaker 3>not going to solve climate change. You know, I'm so

0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:58.880
<v Speaker 3>happy to see the Biden administration putting in strong rules

0:07:58.920 --> 0:08:04.480
<v Speaker 3>requiring a shift to electric vehicles, requiring you know, massive

0:08:04.520 --> 0:08:08.880
<v Speaker 3>reductions in greenhouse gases. So these corporate partnerships, it's one tool,

0:08:09.720 --> 0:08:14.520
<v Speaker 3>but we need regulations. We also sometimes need lawsuits. Not

0:08:14.600 --> 0:08:16.480
<v Speaker 3>a very efficient way to change the world, but it's

0:08:16.480 --> 0:08:21.600
<v Speaker 3>sometimes necessary. So there's lots of motivations, and you know, Carol,

0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:24.240
<v Speaker 3>we don't much care about the motivation. We just want

0:08:24.240 --> 0:08:28.320
<v Speaker 3>the results. And so where we can, we make the

0:08:28.360 --> 0:08:32.000
<v Speaker 3>case that they'll make more money, so they will harvest

0:08:32.240 --> 0:08:38.440
<v Speaker 3>value through better reputations, better employee morale, capturing additional market

0:08:38.480 --> 0:08:41.680
<v Speaker 3>share of electric vehicles by going in this new direction,

0:08:43.640 --> 0:08:45.760
<v Speaker 3>that it's in their business interest. And if that's what

0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:48.680
<v Speaker 3>motivates them, that you know, they'll make more money, that's

0:08:48.679 --> 0:08:50.559
<v Speaker 3>fine with us. We just want to change.

0:08:50.760 --> 0:08:55.640
<v Speaker 2>I agree, and you're talking to you two environmentalists right here, Fred,

0:08:55.679 --> 0:08:58.720
<v Speaker 2>Thank you so much, look forward to hopefully continuing the conversation.

0:08:58.800 --> 0:09:02.680
<v Speaker 2>Fred Crop, President of the Environmental Defense Fund. Pancreatic cancer

0:09:02.720 --> 0:09:04.960
<v Speaker 2>is a third leading cause of cancer related deaths in

0:09:04.960 --> 0:09:08.120
<v Speaker 2>the United States, the five year survival rate is just

0:09:08.200 --> 0:09:10.760
<v Speaker 2>twelve percent. And I've got to say this cancer is

0:09:11.000 --> 0:09:13.200
<v Speaker 2>very much near and dear to me. I lost my

0:09:13.280 --> 0:09:15.720
<v Speaker 2>mom to it, two other family members, and two other

0:09:15.840 --> 0:09:18.800
<v Speaker 2>very close friends of the family. It's a cancer tim

0:09:19.320 --> 0:09:21.960
<v Speaker 2>that many seem to say is rare, and yet it

0:09:21.960 --> 0:09:24.600
<v Speaker 2>seems like more and more individuals are getting it and

0:09:24.679 --> 0:09:28.800
<v Speaker 2>unfortunately dying from it. So it's a really tough one

0:09:28.840 --> 0:09:31.679
<v Speaker 2>having seen at firsthand, really really difficult.

0:09:31.200 --> 0:09:34.160
<v Speaker 1>And the question is are things improving at all. We've

0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:36.480
<v Speaker 1>got a great guest with us this afternoon who's in

0:09:36.520 --> 0:09:39.040
<v Speaker 1>the know of all things pancreatic cancer, Julie Fleshman, as

0:09:39.080 --> 0:09:42.280
<v Speaker 1>President and CEO of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. Julie

0:09:42.360 --> 0:09:44.440
<v Speaker 1>joins us on a zoom from California. Julie, good to

0:09:44.440 --> 0:09:47.360
<v Speaker 1>have you with us this afternoon. I was shocked to

0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:50.600
<v Speaker 1>see that those statistics are still so low. Only twelve

0:09:50.679 --> 0:09:54.960
<v Speaker 1>percent of people who get a pancreatic cancer diagnosis survive

0:09:55.160 --> 0:09:58.599
<v Speaker 1>five years. Why.

0:09:59.240 --> 0:10:01.199
<v Speaker 4>Yeah, thank you so much for having me. And I'm

0:10:01.240 --> 0:10:05.440
<v Speaker 4>so sorry to hear about your own personal experience. So

0:10:05.640 --> 0:10:09.240
<v Speaker 4>pancreatic cancer is tough one. There is no early detection

0:10:09.559 --> 0:10:13.800
<v Speaker 4>test for the disease, so usually by the time it's diagnosed,

0:10:13.840 --> 0:10:17.640
<v Speaker 4>it's late stage and it's already metastasized or spread to

0:10:17.760 --> 0:10:21.080
<v Speaker 4>other organs beyond the pancreas, making it very difficult to

0:10:21.160 --> 0:10:23.719
<v Speaker 4>treat your If you think about where your pancreas is,

0:10:23.800 --> 0:10:27.640
<v Speaker 4>it's deep in your abdominal cavity, behind your stomach, in

0:10:27.720 --> 0:10:30.680
<v Speaker 4>front of your spine. It's not something you could feel,

0:10:30.800 --> 0:10:33.040
<v Speaker 4>you know, you know, like you have your breast, you

0:10:33.120 --> 0:10:36.240
<v Speaker 4>might feel a bump or a lump. You can't feel

0:10:36.240 --> 0:10:39.920
<v Speaker 4>you're pancreas, and so it's difficult to get to end.

0:10:39.960 --> 0:10:42.160
<v Speaker 4>We don't have an early detection test.

0:10:42.600 --> 0:10:44.800
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and it's interesting, you know, for my mom and

0:10:44.840 --> 0:10:49.240
<v Speaker 2>particularly like the symptoms can be indicative of other things,

0:10:50.080 --> 0:10:53.040
<v Speaker 2>kind of not so serious things, and sometimes it takes

0:10:53.080 --> 0:10:56.080
<v Speaker 2>a while for it to diagnose. Having said that, you know,

0:10:56.080 --> 0:10:59.160
<v Speaker 2>I always feel like Julie that a cancer. I think

0:10:59.200 --> 0:11:02.640
<v Speaker 2>of Katie Kurk her husband uh and colon cancer. Like

0:11:03.000 --> 0:11:05.960
<v Speaker 2>when a celebrity or somebody high profile gets something that

0:11:06.040 --> 0:11:08.840
<v Speaker 2>all of a sudden, you know, attention is paid, money

0:11:08.920 --> 0:11:12.559
<v Speaker 2>goes into it is money going into research to find

0:11:12.600 --> 0:11:16.600
<v Speaker 2>ways to do either a test or earlier detection of

0:11:16.640 --> 0:11:19.320
<v Speaker 2>pancredit cancer. As you say, it's so difficult and by

0:11:19.320 --> 0:11:21.240
<v Speaker 2>the time you find it, there's so much going on

0:11:21.320 --> 0:11:23.480
<v Speaker 2>by the pancreas it's just difficult to deal with.

0:11:24.600 --> 0:11:27.400
<v Speaker 4>Yes, I mean, so one of the challenges with this

0:11:27.520 --> 0:11:31.440
<v Speaker 4>disease is twenty years ago there was no funding being

0:11:31.480 --> 0:11:34.400
<v Speaker 4>put into pan credit cancer research, both from a private

0:11:34.440 --> 0:11:38.400
<v Speaker 4>perspective and from a you know, government federal perspective. That's

0:11:38.440 --> 0:11:42.400
<v Speaker 4>definitely changed. I think pan CAN and our advocacy efforts

0:11:42.440 --> 0:11:46.160
<v Speaker 4>have really helped to be a catalyst to you know,

0:11:46.360 --> 0:11:52.520
<v Speaker 4>infuse dollars and interest and support in pank credit cancer research.

0:11:52.640 --> 0:11:56.960
<v Speaker 4>So today there is a vibrant pank credit cancer research community.

0:11:57.360 --> 0:12:00.760
<v Speaker 4>You know, most major medical institutions across the country have

0:12:00.800 --> 0:12:03.960
<v Speaker 4>a pankred a cancer research program. So there's a lot

0:12:04.080 --> 0:12:07.319
<v Speaker 4>happening today. There are a lot more dollars being invested

0:12:07.360 --> 0:12:10.520
<v Speaker 4>in pankred at cancer research. But we quite frankly, for

0:12:10.559 --> 0:12:13.080
<v Speaker 4>the severity of the disease, we still need more. We

0:12:13.120 --> 0:12:17.240
<v Speaker 4>need more people to step up to donate and to

0:12:17.640 --> 0:12:20.400
<v Speaker 4>you know, raise their hands to help us with this

0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:21.439
<v Speaker 4>challenging disease.

0:12:21.840 --> 0:12:23.880
<v Speaker 1>What are rates that we're seeing right now, Julie, Are

0:12:23.920 --> 0:12:26.240
<v Speaker 1>they stable, are they increasing? Are they decreasing? What can

0:12:26.280 --> 0:12:26.680
<v Speaker 1>you tell us?

0:12:27.520 --> 0:12:31.120
<v Speaker 4>Yeah, so the FIBROSOVIV right, Although twelve percent is dismal

0:12:31.240 --> 0:12:35.480
<v Speaker 4>obviously and unacceptable, that has gone up by a percent

0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:39.000
<v Speaker 4>each year for the last couple of years. So we

0:12:39.040 --> 0:12:41.520
<v Speaker 4>are moving in the right direction. When I started doing

0:12:41.559 --> 0:12:44.000
<v Speaker 4>this work, you know, two decades ago, the five year

0:12:44.040 --> 0:12:47.760
<v Speaker 4>survival it was just four percent. It had gone up

0:12:47.800 --> 0:12:50.560
<v Speaker 4>to about six percent in two thand and eleven, and

0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:54.079
<v Speaker 4>since twenty and eleven it's gone from six to twelve.

0:12:54.679 --> 0:12:58.120
<v Speaker 4>So again not acceptable, and we still have a lot

0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:00.559
<v Speaker 4>of work to do, but I think it does show

0:13:00.960 --> 0:13:03.720
<v Speaker 4>that there is a lot more interest, There is a

0:13:03.760 --> 0:13:06.560
<v Speaker 4>lot more work being done, you know, we don't We

0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:09.920
<v Speaker 4>not only need an early detection test, but we also

0:13:10.040 --> 0:13:13.959
<v Speaker 4>need better treatment options. Even those people who are diagnosed

0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:17.880
<v Speaker 4>early and I have surgery many times there is a reoccurrence,

0:13:17.920 --> 0:13:21.480
<v Speaker 4>and so we also need better treatment options for patients.

0:13:21.559 --> 0:13:23.480
<v Speaker 2>So talk to us about some of the signs because

0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:26.080
<v Speaker 2>as I said to you, I know for my mom,

0:13:26.360 --> 0:13:28.920
<v Speaker 2>uh particularly, there were things that were going on that

0:13:29.400 --> 0:13:31.679
<v Speaker 2>you know, it took a while to really diagnose because

0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:36.400
<v Speaker 2>it could be read as just you know, upset stomach

0:13:36.440 --> 0:13:39.680
<v Speaker 2>and some different different things. So it does take a

0:13:39.679 --> 0:13:42.520
<v Speaker 2>while sometimes to figure it out, but symptoms that maybe

0:13:42.559 --> 0:13:45.319
<v Speaker 2>people should watch out for. At this point. It doesn't

0:13:45.360 --> 0:13:48.240
<v Speaker 2>necessarily mean you have it, but it might at least

0:13:48.400 --> 0:13:50.640
<v Speaker 2>cause you to at least ask the questions of a

0:13:50.679 --> 0:13:51.960
<v Speaker 2>member of the medical community.

0:13:52.840 --> 0:13:54.880
<v Speaker 4>Absolutely, and that's what we want. We want people to

0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:57.120
<v Speaker 4>be aware so that it can be their own best

0:13:57.200 --> 0:14:00.920
<v Speaker 4>you know, patient advocate. And the symptoms are fairly benign.

0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:06.240
<v Speaker 4>It's things like weightless sudden weight loss. So if you

0:14:06.320 --> 0:14:09.000
<v Speaker 4>suddenly lose weight and you know, people are excited I

0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:11.719
<v Speaker 4>lost weight, But if there's not a reason for it,

0:14:11.760 --> 0:14:13.960
<v Speaker 4>that's the kind of thing you should pay attention to.

0:14:14.840 --> 0:14:19.480
<v Speaker 4>Stomach pain, back pain, jaundice or yellowing of the skin

0:14:20.080 --> 0:14:24.440
<v Speaker 4>or eyes is many times a telling symptom for pancreatic cancer,

0:14:24.480 --> 0:14:29.160
<v Speaker 4>although usually comes on more late stage new onset diabetes.

0:14:29.240 --> 0:14:32.480
<v Speaker 4>That's a symptom that we understand more about today that

0:14:32.600 --> 0:14:36.920
<v Speaker 4>for some people who get sudden onset diabetes, that may

0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:39.720
<v Speaker 4>be an early symptom of pancretic cancer. And people can

0:14:39.760 --> 0:14:43.240
<v Speaker 4>go to pancan dot org to read about all of

0:14:43.320 --> 0:14:46.440
<v Speaker 4>the symptoms as well as the risk factors for the disease.

0:14:46.720 --> 0:14:48.880
<v Speaker 2>Is there a chance that there will be a test someday?

0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:52.720
<v Speaker 2>I know that members of my family are my world

0:14:52.720 --> 0:14:55.440
<v Speaker 2>that when there's been some concerns, we've done baselines just

0:14:55.480 --> 0:14:59.040
<v Speaker 2>to kind of have something to compare God forbid. But

0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:02.840
<v Speaker 2>having said that, does the medical community, the research community,

0:15:02.880 --> 0:15:06.160
<v Speaker 2>with the right amount of time money, approach that there

0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:09.440
<v Speaker 2>will be some kind of screening test someday? And is

0:15:09.520 --> 0:15:13.680
<v Speaker 2>genetics the genetic testing I know is something that certainly

0:15:14.000 --> 0:15:15.200
<v Speaker 2>I'm curious about.

0:15:16.200 --> 0:15:18.480
<v Speaker 4>Yeah, absolutely, I mean there is a lot of research

0:15:18.520 --> 0:15:20.600
<v Speaker 4>going on in this area. I think kind of three

0:15:20.720 --> 0:15:24.360
<v Speaker 4>areas of blood tests. So there is work being done

0:15:24.480 --> 0:15:28.640
<v Speaker 4>to develop a blood test, a blood marker where you

0:15:28.680 --> 0:15:31.160
<v Speaker 4>know someone, if you took someone's blood, you would be

0:15:31.160 --> 0:15:37.240
<v Speaker 4>able to potentially see the circulating DNA that might tell

0:15:37.280 --> 0:15:41.840
<v Speaker 4>you that the person has cancer and then you know,

0:15:41.960 --> 0:15:44.640
<v Speaker 4>So that's one area. There's there's tests being done that

0:15:44.800 --> 0:15:47.080
<v Speaker 4>there are blood tests that are being worked on specifically

0:15:47.080 --> 0:15:49.760
<v Speaker 4>for pancratic cancer. And then there's blood tests that are

0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:53.280
<v Speaker 4>being working worked on across many cancers where someone might

0:15:53.320 --> 0:15:56.120
<v Speaker 4>go in and get had blood work done and it

0:15:56.200 --> 0:16:00.240
<v Speaker 4>might give them an indication of you know, across many

0:16:00.280 --> 0:16:04.680
<v Speaker 4>different types of cancers. Usually these tests are not definitive

0:16:04.760 --> 0:16:07.160
<v Speaker 4>and you still have to do them, you know, follow up,

0:16:07.400 --> 0:16:10.000
<v Speaker 4>but at least might give someone an indication that they

0:16:10.000 --> 0:16:15.520
<v Speaker 4>should do that sort of next step, you know. Genetic testing,

0:16:15.560 --> 0:16:19.240
<v Speaker 4>as you mentioned, is another area. We know people who

0:16:19.520 --> 0:16:22.640
<v Speaker 4>are at a higher risk if they've had someone in

0:16:22.680 --> 0:16:26.720
<v Speaker 4>their family who's had pankcredic cancer. So understanding your genetic

0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:30.800
<v Speaker 4>risk is important. Understanding did the person who had pankcredic cancer.

0:16:31.320 --> 0:16:34.040
<v Speaker 2>They have testing we have to run, unfortunately, but a

0:16:34.080 --> 0:16:37.240
<v Speaker 2>lot of great information. Julie Fleishman, she's president CEO of

0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:39.880
<v Speaker 2>PANC Credic Cancer Action Network. Thank you so much,