Bibliograph

On the cancer frontier, one man, one disease, and a medical revolution, Paul A. Marks, MD and James Sterngold

Type

Label

On the cancer frontier, one man, one disease, and a medical revolution, Paul A. Marks, MD and James Sterngold

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references and index

resource.biographical

contains biographical information

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

On the cancer frontier

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

861895337

Responsibility statement

Paul A. Marks, MD and James Sterngold

Sub title

one man, one disease, and a medical revolution

Summary

"Paul Marks M.D., President Emeritus of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Hospital, attributes the elusive nature of cancers cure to its inherently anarchic processes. There can be no hope for a miracle cure when defective cells use a myriad of tools to succeed in their relentless assaults. There are many ways cancers get started, and turn healthy cell division and growth into lethal attacks. Cancer cells and their abnormal genes are inherently unstable and so, are able to fight off anything that gets in their way-often a prescribed drug. In 1950 the discovery of cancer was all but a death sentence. By 1980, 214 of every 100,000 Americans died from cancer. As late as 1986, an article in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed the less-than-optimistic outlook cancer research, publishing the condemning sentence : we are losing the war against cancer." In fact, though cancer had not been eliminated, it had begun to be identified for what it is. A highly individualistic disease, variable-a guerrilla cell rather than a marching army. Suddenly science learned how to fight the right war-at ever closer quarters. And at the forefront of the momentous chain of discoveries was Paul Marks. Chronicling the insights of researchers and doctors around the world and the momentous effects of their pains-taking advances- Marks weaves together the humbling account of how and what we learned about the mechanisms of malignant and abnormal cells that make up every one of us"--Provided by publisher

Table Of Contents

Cracking medicine's oldest mystery -- Deciphering the inner workings of the cell -- The first look deep inside the cancer cell -- Bringing the new sciences to an old school -- The moon shot -- Teaching cancer cells to die -- The politics of cancer research -- Memorial Sloan-Kettering finds its agent of change -- Getting aggressive in the war on cancer -- A perfect cure- for a single cancer patient -- Changing cancer care from within -- Enlisting a major new ally- the cancer patient -- Breast cancer gets its own home -- Learning to love acid -- The payoff -- Cancer screening as a way of life -- The next leap

Target audience

adult

Classification