Traveling to the beautiful campus of the University of California, Berkeley, we were fortunate enough to sit-down with Dr. Catherine Metayer, Epidemiologist whose research is focused on the environmental toxins and factors that play a role in the development of childhood leukemia. Her research circles around finding the possible various toxins responsible for childhood leukemia, and with that information she hopes to prevent the disease from being diagnosed at all. Causes could be possibly linked back to either parents who were previous smokers, the air pollution the mother breaths during pregnancy, and right now a study is focused on the dust a child may crawl around in as a baby. Dr. Metayer states most diagnosis of childhood leukemia are between the ages of 3 to 5 years old. She does highlight the enormous leaps leukemia has taken in regards to treatment and the curable rate; however, she does elaborate on the importance of preventing the disease in the first place, starting with the findings of environmental toxins that relate to the disease. Although treatment has made strides in leukemia, the lasting side effects children experience later on in life and for the rest of their life are accountable. Dr. Metayer goes on further to discuss the financial toxicity families experience when dealing with treatment in cancer, and explains that the burden should not be left on the families, their child should have access to treatments that would potentially save their life, despite cost.

We are honored to be able to feature Dr. Catherine Metayer’s and her knowledge and research to our upcoming documentary, Those On The Front Lines Of Cancer, premiering this Fall 2019.