This book is a monumental work, and at 472 pages, it might well stand at the pinnacle of modern medical literature. While written for the layman, it had even me, a medical student turning the pages, utterly gripped by the depth and research that has gone into it. It has something to offer to everyone and I strongly urge the medical fraternity to read this book, if not to learn something new then at least to access a paradigm shift on their views on cancer that might powerfully affect how they view this scourge from here on.
The truth is, Cancer is a universal disease. Everyone has seen, heard or read about cancer at some point of time or the other. Films revolve around it, it alters the lives of some irrevocably while destroying others. It has shaped and reshaped popular culture for years and that word – CANCER - resounds loudly in the mind, ringing an alarm bell in our subconscious programmed by years of suffering
Mukherjee deals with his subject matter with a sensitivity that is as surprising and disarming as it is revealing. HE manages to trace the history of this disease from obscure mention in Egyptian papyri to a Persian queen who has her slave excise a tumor in her breast, to William Halstead the inspirational surgeon who pioneered breast cancer surgery and ending with the miracle drug Gleevec. Along the course of his narration there are intertwined stories of people who fought cancer and lost, the tales of pioneering doctors who spent their entire lives in the battle against the disease and of his patients, themselves survivors, whose lives has been defined by it.
A large part of the book has been devoted to tracing the chemotherapeutic war against leukemia and the life and trials of Sidney Farber. Juxtaposed against this is the story of Mary Lasker and the Laskerites who collaborated with Farber in the war against cancer in America which led to significant funding in the national budget and further advances in the field. He also talks about the misconceptions that used to prevail regarding smoking and cancer and the slow march towards understanding that has led to the current state of anti-tobacco lobbying we see around us today.
This is a strong and evocative narrative that defies classification. While maneuvering difficult medical concepts of genetics and chemotherapy Mukherjee is enlightening without once being obtuse or complex, weaving an engrossing narrative meant to reach out to everyone. A lot of research has gone into this book as evinced by the thick sheaf of references at the back, but the research seems to propel the book above any boring or burdened book on cancer, to a light, gripping read that will linger with you long after you read the final pages.
So read this book. Read it if you are affected by cancer, read it if you know about someone who is, read it if you are an oncologist and read it if you want to foray into the wonderful world of medicine. Most importantly, read it even if you do not fit into any of the above categories, you will glimpse a world of hope, frustration, defeat and invention that will redefine the meaning of illness as you see it. Read it and be wowed.