Book 16: The Emperor of All Maladies
The Emperor of all Maladies is, quite simply, a fantastic book. Titled as a “Biography of Cancer”, I can think of no better description. The book describes the path of cancer knowledge from the earliest presumed documented case of breast cancer in 2500 BC to 2010, the year of publication. It is a story that is fascinating, scary, hopeful and sometimes disturbing (I’m looking at you, radical mastectomy). It definitely clarifies the field of cancer diseases and helps to answer some of my questions about why some are so responsive to treatments while others are not. I also have a much better understanding of the genetics involved, and what people mean when they talk about “markers”. Don’t be fooled, I’m still no biochemist!
A little known secret about me is that in Grade 11 Biology, I did a science fair project where I gave cancer to earthworms by painting them with distilled water in which I soaked the filters of smoked cigarettes. I was lucky enough to be allowed to prepare and observe slices of my worm-tumors under the electron microscope at Peterborough’s Trent University. What 16 year old dreams of anything less?? This project instilled in my a passing but (so far) life-long interest in cancer – enough to read the headlines but not enough to change the trajectory of my career. This book has filled in decades worth of gaps in my knowledge and re-inspired that interest.
Rating: Buy it!
