Why Millions Survive Cancer The Successes of Science

by Pecorino, Lauren

• ISBN13: 9780199580552
• ISBN10: 0199580553
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-09-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Today, more than 12 million cancer survivors just in the United States alone are alive today as a result of the extraordinary advances in science and medicine. InWhy Millions Survive Cancer, Lauren Pecorino illuminates this enormous and recent progress in fighting cancer, painting an intriguing portrait of scientific breakthroughs, the leading scientists behind these key discoveries, and the steps that we can all take to reduce our exposure to cancer. The struggle against cancer has been long and difficult, but as Pecorino shows, the tide is changing, and changing rapidly. Treatments are becoming gentler and more effective. Many newly developed drugs have fewer side effects and can be administered as a pill rather than intravenously, giving patients a better quality of life. Better response rates are occurring for treatments that are targeted against the genetic characteristics of a tumor. Advances in instrumentation, robotics and imaging have led to more precise and less invasive surgical procedures. And public awareness about carcinogens is spreading and, increasingly, people are avoiding cigarettes, alcohol, and excessive exposure to the sun. As Pecorino discusses these exciting new developments, she provides readers with fascinating accounts of medical research and the discoveries we have made about the nature of cancer and the ways we can defeat it. For instance, we learn the stories behind such important new drugs as Avastin, Gardasil (the world's first cervical cancer vaccine), Herceptin, and Gleevec, the development of which unfolded "like a fairy tale with a happy ending." All this progress is fairly recent and it may well be the beginning of the end--for cancer. With one out of three people contracting cancer during their lifetimes, this book offers a wealth of "good news" that we all will want to hear.

Author Biography

Lauren Pecorino is Principal Lecturer in Cancer Biology at the University of Greenwich. She has presented guest lectures in Rome and Palermo, Italy; Istanbul, Turkey; Cairo, Egypt and the United States.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
List of Illustrations and Plates	p. xv
Introduction to the good news	p. 1
What is cancer?	p. 12
Carcinogens: how they work and our defense against them	p. 27
All we had to do was quit	p. 45
Too much of a good thing	p. 61
The great escape	p. 73
You are what you eat (and do)	p. 85
A fairy tale: finding the cure to leukemia	p. 98
Cancer screening works!	p. 108
Let's talk about it	p. 123
How to starve a tumor	p. 135
A vaccine against cervical cancer	p. 147
A fit like a glove	p. 158
Where do we go from here?	p. 172
Bibliography	p. 185
Glossary	p. 199
Index	p. 203
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