On the Cancer Frontier: One Man, One Disease, and a Medical Revolution

Blending biography and medical history, Marks, former head of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and journalist Sterngold, deliver a sobering panorama of cancer research and treatment. "The truth is that basic research has been the engine for most of the successes in the war on cancer," they write, warning that "finding a single %E2%80%98cure' for all cancers is unlikely." As a medical student in 1948, Marks was devastated by the loss of a young leukemia patient, but in 1971 the nation declared a "war" on cancer and at Sloan-Kettering, Marks helped lead the charge, backing "novel methods for treating both the disease and the whole patient," introducing a "day hospital" and psychological services. He emphasizes the importance of "serious science" to understand and treat cancer, including the fascinating evolution of a drug that "brought a patient back from the dead" yet was "too weak" to help in most cancers. "I do not think we will ever eliminate the disease so long as cells replicate and we are exposed to the environmental and biological %E2%80%98insults' that can cause genetic abnormalities," Marks writes. Nevertheless, this survey illustrates a doctor's determination to fight for scientific and medical victories that will extend life and hope. (Mar.)