Henry Kaplan and the Story of Hodgkin's Disease

by Charlotte DeCroes Jacobs

In the 1950s, ninety-five percent of patients with Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of lymph tissue which afflicts young adults, died. Today most are cured, due mainly to the efforts of Dr. Henry Kaplan. Henry Kaplan and the Story of Hodgkin's Disease explores the life of this multifaceted, internationally known radiation oncologist, called a "saint" by some, a "malignant son of a bitch" by others. Kaplan's passion to cure cancer dominated his life and helped him weather the controversy that marked each of his innovations, but it extracted a high price, leaving casualties along the way. Most never knew of his family struggles, his ill-fated love affair with Stanford University, or the humanitarian efforts that imperiled him. Today, Kaplan ranks as one of the foremost physician-scientists in the history of cancer medicine. In this book Charlotte Jacobs gives us the first account of a remarkable man who changed the face of cancer therapy and the history of a once fatal, now curable, cancer. She presents a dual drama ―the biography of this renowned man who called cancer his "Moby Dick" and the history of Hodgkin's disease, the malignancy he set out to annihilate. The book recounts the history of Hodgkin's disease, first described in 1832: the key figures, the serendipitous discoveries of radiation and chemotherapy, the improving cure rates, the unanticipated toxicities. The lives of individual patients, bold enough to undergo experimental therapies, lend poignancy to the successes and failures.

Genres: Nonfiction

456 pages, Hardcover

First published March 25, 2010

About the author

Charlotte D. Jacobs, M.D. is the Ben and A. Jess Shenson Professor of Medicine (Emerita) at Stanford University. She graduated from the University of Rochester and studied medicine at Washington University in St. Louis.

Reviews

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book fascinating. My son had Hodgkin's Disease and was successfully treated. It starts with Hodgkin discovering a new disease but dying in obscurity. Henry Kaplan, an intellectual genius, found Hodgkin's treatise and gave him credit, thus the naming of the illness.The book details the discovery of radium and mustard gas, two components of the later devised treatment.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent depiction of the private and professional life of Henry Kaplan and rich explanations in layman's terms of the development of radiation therapy and cancer treatment.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting, fascinating if the subject interests you