Out of Patients with Matthew Zachary
Out of Patients with Matthew Zachary
Matthew Zachary is the healthcare policy love child of Jon Stewart, Howard Stern, Thomas Paine, Ralph Nader, and Jerry Seinfeld. He has 19 years of receipts to prove it. Editorially independent. Answerable to no one. What started as The Stupid Cancer Show in 2007 became Out of Patients. The first online health podcast in America, predating the medium itself. Zachary survived brain cancer at 21, built the young adult cancer movement from scratch, and spent two decades channeling patient rage into something the system never saw coming. Now he is marching into Washington. Out of Patients goes where the comfortable shows will not. Politics. Healthcare policy. Economics. Institutional accountability. Consumer protection. The forces shaping what 330 million Americans can access, afford, and survive. Battle-scarred patients. Exhausted caregivers. Rare insiders brave enough to name what is killing us. And the occasional elected official about to find out what an organized patient constituency actually looks like. This is the show that started the conversation America is still not ready to finish.
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May 6, 2025

CancerCare Turns 81. Christine Verini Has the Keys

CancerCare Turns 81. Christine Verini Has the Keys
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Christine Verini is a pharmacist by training, a nonprofit CEO by title, and an unapologetic empath by design. She now leads CancerCare, one of the oldest, least-known, and most impactful organizations in the country that actually helps real cancer patients deal with the practical garbage no one likes to talk about—like paying rent, affording a ride to chemo, or feeding their kids.

We talk about her career pivot from industry to impact, what it's like trying to scale empathy without losing your soul, and the daily gut-punch of knowing there are millions of people who still have no idea that CancerCare exists. Christine gets real about leadership, advocacy, burnout, and why being “pan-cancer” matters more than ever in a world obsessed with biomarkers, buckets, and branding.

She also dishes on what AI gets dead wrong, what patients actually want when they call for help, and why “ghosting” someone with cancer is still a thing. Buckle up. This one's packed with heart, brains, and a little righteous rage.


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Out of Patients EP400: CancerCare Turns 81. Christine Verini Has the Keys

Christine Verini is the CEO of CancerCare, but more importantly, she’s someone who actually gives a damn. She’s a pharmacist who ditched the corporate ladder to lead an 81-year-old organization that helps real cancer patients with the things no one …