Book Review
Jun. 15th, 2020 02:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariThe Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
by Siddhartha Mukherjee
The Emperor of All Maladies is one of those rare non-fiction books that is every bit as compelling as a good novel. Mukherjee covers the history of cancer, both the scientific discovery and understanding of it and the development of treatments for it, from ancient times right up to the early 21st century. I especially found the way many treatments were refined and perfected over decades interesting - many started out as rather blunt instruments applied with a heavy hand to much more targeted and precise techniques. Radical mastectomies were gradually abandoned in favor of much more conservative surgery, megadoses of multiple chemotherapy drugs became smaller doses of more specific drugs. Mukherjee does a beautiful job of weaving in stories of individual patients and of the doctors and researchers who treated them, which keeps the book grounded in the human aspect of cancer, even when the text gets deeper into the science. His prose deftly incorporates philosophical musings and literary references that are both intellectually satisfying and enriching to the stories he is telling.
Yes, I read a book about cancer while beginning the process of cancer treatment. I'm not one for self-help books or sentimental memoirs, so I found The Emperor of All Maladies immensely helpful and oddly comforting. I liked reading about the origins of the treatments I am or will likely be getting, and I admit to being very glad that I am doing this now rather than decades ago. We have a ways to go, but have also come very far when it comes to treating cancer, for which I am grateful.
Know thine enemy.
by Siddhartha Mukherjee
The Emperor of All Maladies is one of those rare non-fiction books that is every bit as compelling as a good novel. Mukherjee covers the history of cancer, both the scientific discovery and understanding of it and the development of treatments for it, from ancient times right up to the early 21st century. I especially found the way many treatments were refined and perfected over decades interesting - many started out as rather blunt instruments applied with a heavy hand to much more targeted and precise techniques. Radical mastectomies were gradually abandoned in favor of much more conservative surgery, megadoses of multiple chemotherapy drugs became smaller doses of more specific drugs. Mukherjee does a beautiful job of weaving in stories of individual patients and of the doctors and researchers who treated them, which keeps the book grounded in the human aspect of cancer, even when the text gets deeper into the science. His prose deftly incorporates philosophical musings and literary references that are both intellectually satisfying and enriching to the stories he is telling.
Yes, I read a book about cancer while beginning the process of cancer treatment. I'm not one for self-help books or sentimental memoirs, so I found The Emperor of All Maladies immensely helpful and oddly comforting. I liked reading about the origins of the treatments I am or will likely be getting, and I admit to being very glad that I am doing this now rather than decades ago. We have a ways to go, but have also come very far when it comes to treating cancer, for which I am grateful.
Know thine enemy.
