"We all know that cancer research is important and yet after reading breathless accounts of Tumblr's growth or Twitter's IPO, we somehow forget. In a randomized trial of a drug that seemed to rollback a previously fatal cancer, where half the patients were given a placebo and the other half a new lease on life, researchers recently discussed the possibility that a patient would become violent in demanding the experimental treatment. To gain access to clinical trials, some move to new cities and register under false names. No one has ever done that for an iPhone app."

From the comments, a response from the article's author:

Government may be part of the problem but believe me mostly skepticism about government is the problem: cancer is the kind of massive, far-sighted undertaking that only governments can support.

If FDA approval were the only issue more VCs would support medical research, selling companies with a cure to pharmaceutical giants.

Glenn Kelman AUTHOR

Redfin CEO

So an Internet CEO is justifying why he's not working on curing cancer?

His wife is an oncologist and his mother died of cancer.  Perhaps he is trying to build awareness.