Going for the Cure

Early in 1986, Thompson, a New York City orthopedic surgeon, discovered that she had multiple myeloma, a fatal bone-marrow cancer--and resolved to fight it. Although no one stricken with myeloma had ever been cured, the determined author--after achieving remission by an initial regimen of chemotherapy--entered a six-month experimental program to seek a cure. An excruciating physical and mental ordeal, her treatment required massive doses of chemotherapy, radiation and antibiotics designed to eliminate all of her diseased bone marrow except for a small quantity that was treated with antibodies outside her body and later transplanted back to regenerate the marrow supply. Writing in the form of a present-tense, first-person journal, in her dual role as patient and professional Thompson conveys an intense personal involvement combined with a scientific detachment and attention to technical detail. A year after her marrow transplant, she was pronounced cured. (June)