“Chemo Destroys the Very Cells That Could Save You”
Cancer surgeon Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong has spent more than 50 years on one mission. Outsmarting cancer.
His message. Cancer doesn’t start with “bad genes” or random fate. It starts when your immune system stops doing its job. This changes everything you’ve been told about how to fight & prevent cancer.
Dr. Soon-Shiong says his latest cancer immunotherapy work points toward a future where many patients no longer need traditional chemotherapy, but experts say the approach still requires more data and careful scrutiny before it can transform standard care. He describes the strategy as teaching the immune system to attack tumors so that “you do not need chemotherapy” in some cancers, while current approvals cover only specific indications and often in combination with other treatments.
NewsNation special teases bold claim
NewsNation plans to air a prime-time special titled “Killing Cancer: The Power Within,” featuring an extended interview between host Chris Cuomo and Soon-Shiong about a therapy that uses the body’s own immune cells to fight tumors. Promotional materials frame the discussion with the question, “What if everything we thought we knew about cancer was wrong?” and promise a “breakthrough that will astound you.”
In preview clips and promotional articles, producers describe the special as an investigation into “a potentially transformative and life-saving cancer therapy” and highlight patients who credit experimental regimens linked to Soon-Shiong’s companies for turning around their disease. The hour-long broadcast, scheduled for November 25 on NewsNation, comes amid intense public interest in alternatives to conventional chemotherapy and frustration over the pace of progress against advanced cancers.
Immune-based strategy behind the hype
Soon-Shiong built his reputation and fortune by redesigning the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel into Abraxane, an albumin-bound formulation that improved delivery and reduced some toxicities in breast, lung, and pancreatic cancers. Over the past decade, he has shifted focus toward immunotherapy platforms that combine cytokines, natural killer cells, T cells, and cancer “vaccines” with low-dose chemo or other agents to stimulate a coordinated immune attack on tumors.
In interviews about his current pipeline, he argues that activating the immune system can produce deep, durable responses without the “heavy blast” of traditional chemotherapy for some patients. Discussing the IL-15 superagonist N-803 (now marketed as ANKTIVA for certain bladder cancers), he said successful approval would prove “you do not need chemotherapy” when clinicians can mobilize a patient’s own immune cells to clear disease.
What the data shows so far
Clinical-trial results published to date offer promising but still limited evidence. A phase 2 study in metastatic pancreatic cancer that combined a cancer vaccine platform with low-dose chemotherapy reported median overall survival of around six months in heavily pretreated patients, roughly double historical controls in that setting. In non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, the ANKTIVA-based regimen produced complete response rates above 70% in certain cohorts and durable disease control beyond two years for many responders, leading to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for that specific indication in 2024.
Even with positive signals, regulators and oncologists emphasize that these therapies currently apply to defined patient groups and often rely on combination approaches rather than eliminating chemotherapy altogether. Experts also note that response rates and survival benefits vary by tumor type and disease stage, and that head-to-head trials against modern standards of care will be necessary before guidelines shift away from chemotherapy in many common cancers.
Enthusiasm, skepticism, and patient hopes
Soon-Shiong often positions his work as a challenge to what he calls a “harmful, money-making chemotherapy standard,” arguing that industry incentives slow adoption of immune-based approaches that could reduce toxicity and long-term side effects. Supporters, including high-profile figures such as former NFL quarterback Tom Brady, praise his research as “incredible work” and say his message gives patients new hope that cancer treatment can evolve beyond decades-old regimens.
Skeptics caution that framing any single program as a near-term replacement for chemotherapy risks overselling early-stage science and may confuse patients who still benefit from established combinations. Patient advocates urge viewers of the upcoming Cuomo special to discuss any new therapies with their oncologists, verify trial eligibility, and avoid abandoning proven treatments outside the context of carefully monitored clinical studies.
