I'm reading this book by, oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee, where he chronicles how our understanding (mainly the medical community) of cancer has evolved. His book, "The Emperor of All Maladies" is an incredibly powerful book. It is one of those books that is with you days after you've finished, a hell of a read. I actually bought a copy early on to give to Rose's doc. Unfortunately, I gave it away before I could get it to her. Sorry. Then I heard the author interviewed by Terry Gross. She is great. I've mentioned the interview in a previous post. Now, however, I'm actually reading the book. It is as the title offers, "history."
I am absolutely astounded at some of the barbaric treatment that cancer victims and women, in particular, have had to undergo. Being bled, massive surgeries that disfigured; and maybe the worst: the egotism of doctors who gleamed onto a theory and would not let it go even though all evidence pointed in another direction. And, to these zealot docs, desperate patients arrived, wanting hope and what they were given is pain.
What I've really liked about the book is that the doc pulls no punches. Like a good historian, he just presents the facts, the "what ifs." Will we ever conquer this insidious disease? Please God, I hope so.
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