What happens when a highly motivated patient meets a healthcare system that’s… not built for patients? In this episode, Kathy Giusti joins Taylor Cu and Dr. William Stanford to break down why cancer care can feel impossible to navigate—and what patients can do to take control of decisions, timelines, and outcomes.

Kathy shares how her diagnosis pushed her into “research mode,” how she identified the right myeloma centers before Google existed, and why personalization in cancer care is moving from “tumor type” to the underlying biology. She also gets real about trust: when patients can’t access their doctors or get answers beyond a 15-minute visit, trust erodes fast.

Key mindset shift: being informed isn’t “being difficult”—it’s survival. As Kathy puts it, the goal is to learn how to get the best medical advice, not replace your doctor.

Key Takeaways:

1. How patients can build the right care team and choose specialists in a complex cancer system
2. Why trust breaks down in healthcare and how limited access impacts patient outcomes
3. The difference between personalized medicine and precision medicine in real-world care
4. How genomics and epigenetics are reshaping cancer classification and treatment decisions
5. How to use AI and digital tools to prepare for doctor visits and support shared decision-making
6. The core ideas behind Kathy Giusti’s 12-step framework for patients and caregivers navigating cancer

In This Episode:

1. [00:00:00] Why patients lose trust in cancer care
2. [00:02:12] Kathy Giusti’s diagnosis + why she turned to advocacy
3. [00:05:54] The hardest early step: choosing the right team/center
4. [00:07:48] Identical twin insight + transplant-era decision-making
5. [00:09:48] Finding true specialists (and why it changes everything)
6. [00:12:51] Epigenetics, family patterns, and future cancer classification
7. [00:16:32] “Cure cancer” optimism vs the access reality
8. [00:18:10] Prevention, screening, and why people still avoid action
9. [00:21:15] Finding a great primary care doctor (and why it’s hard)
10. [00:25:46] One system vs fragmented care: coordination wins
11. [00:29:20] What precision medicine still gets wrong: clarity + language
12. [00:31:20] Trust, influencers, and using your time with doctors wisely
13. [00:36:00] Kathy’s book:...