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Mary LaskerMary Lasker
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Part:         Session:         Page of 999

Lasker:

Yes, Frank Laucher and Dr. Cohen of New Orleans, and Dr. Hollen. There's some report being made to the board meeting at the end of March. I'm not sure at all anything immediate will happen. It will take a lot of pressure.

Q:

What was the gist of it?

Lasker:

The gist of it was that something was needed to be done, and you know there was just kind of bureaucratic resistance. They didn't say they wouldn't do it, they didn't say they would either, youknow -- the marvelous manners of the bureaucracy that shield them from having to do anything, it's like jumping on a rubber sheet.

Q:

I would think that a task force is largely dependent upon a very dedicated doctor, a single individual.

Lasker:

The leader of the task force, yes, I think you're right. But unless he has the right combination of drugs it doesn't matter how dedicated he is. For instance, there's the so called leukemia group B which is led by Dr. Halland found that they had to get a massive improvement in treatment for lymphatic leukemia in children, whereas Group A led by Dr. Bure Lemal at Memorial had no luck at all because the combination of drugs was wrong. If you don't have the right combination of drugs and the right dosages, you can kill more people than you can help.

Q:

What caused you to become interested in the pancreas?

Lasker:

Well, because it was an area where there were substantial





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