THE DEATH OF CANCER -- A Good Read

I just finished reading The Death of Cancer by Vincent G. DeVita, Jr. The book outlines his lifelong career in the cancer field, and it started out somewhat sluggish but gained more "meat and potatoes" to it, the more I read. He covers all the obstacles that I'm sure we can all relate to in trying to get all kinds of cancer drugs into the pipelines safely and quickly--the FDA, Senators, scientists and even oncologists, many of whom have ulterior motives that don't include saving lives. Despite the many downs in finding the cure for many kinds of cancers, he provides so much hope for so many of us in either actually shutting down a cancer or providing us with a "chronic" condition, which I'm sure all of us could ultimately live with. I thought the book was extremely insightful into the real world of cancer research and how far we have come so quickly just since the 1980s. This book was written by a man who had advanced prostate cancer himself with a not very high survival statistic. He is now approximately eighty years old and provides hope for all of us with new drug treatments and ways to treat cancer with different "hallmarks".

Just wanted to share my brief thoughts on the book, and if you get a chance to read it, I think it would be worth your time. I feel more empowered and encouraged by what may be available to us. Here's hoping that the sometimes bureaucratic process that impedes the quick submission of newly-discovered treatments is remedied quickly and that deaths from all cancers can in the near future be a thing of the past. Best wishes to all out there in this cancer journey, breast or otherwise. Ann