Dr. Anjali Bharne has spent 15 years sitting across from patients who just heard the words "you have cancer." As a board-certified hematologist and medical oncologist at UC San Diego Health, she's witnessed the explosion of cancer treatment options—and the explosion of misinformation right alongside it.This conversation gets into territory most oncologists won't touch publicly. The patient who confessed to secretly taking ivermectin and fenbendazole because he read about it online. The desperate families spending tens of thousands on alternative treatments from providers who've lost their medical licenses. The real consequences when someone delays proven treatment to try something they heard about on a podcast.Dr. Bharne walks us through what's actually changed in cancer care since 2010. Precision oncology means doctors can now target specific mutations in your cancer. Immunotherapy has become a genuine game-changer for certain cancer types. And researchers have figured out that sometimes three drugs aren't better than two—more aggressive doesn't always mean more effective.

00:00 - Opening08:57 - How a medical student discovered her calling on the bone marrow transplant ward

11:23 - Three major advances in cancer care over 15 years

13:34 - Immunotherapy explained in terms that actually make sense

15:02 - The first visit: navigating a new cancer diagnosis

28:12 - Why patients pursue alternative treatments alongside standard care

31:28 - The financial toxicity of unproven treatments

34:02 - Red flags when researching alternative cancer providers

37:55 - Real patient story: confessing to secret alternative treatment

40:18 - The cost of delayed treatment nobody talks about