The Death of Cancer: After Fifty Years on the Front Lines of Medicine, a Pioneering Oncologist Reveals Why the War on Cancer Is Winnable--and How We Can Get There

by Vincent T. DeVita Jr. M.D., Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn

Overview

The true story of the war on cancer from one of its generals

Cancer touches everybody's life in one way or another. But most of us know very little about how the disease works, why we treat it the way we do, and the personalities whose dedication got us where we are today. For fifty years, Dr. Vincent T. DeVita Jr. has been one of those key players: He has held just about every major position in the field, and he developed the first successful chemotherapy treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma. As one of oncology's leading figures, DeVita knows what cancer looks like from the lab bench and the bedside. The Death of Cancer is his illuminating and deeply personal look at the science and the history of one of the world's most formidable diseases. In his hands, even the most complex medical concepts are comprehensible.

Cowritten with his daughter, the science writer Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn, The Death of Cancer is also a personal tale about the false starts and major breakthroughs, the strong-willed oncologists who clashed with conservative administrators (and one another), and the courageous patients whose willingness to test cutting-edge research helped those oncologists find potential treatments.

With historical depth and authenticity, DeVita reveals the true story of the fight against cancer. The Death of Cancer is an ambitious, vital book about a life-and-death subject that touches us all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374536480
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	11/01/2016
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	662,842
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Vincent T. DeVita Jr., M.D., is a professor of medicine, epidemiology, and public health at the Yale School of Medicine. He was the director of the National Cancer Institute and the National Cancer Program from 1980 to 1988, when he joined Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center as the physician in chief. In 1993 he became the director of the Yale Cancer Center. At the NCI, he developed a cure for Hodgkin’s lymphoma with combination chemotherapy, proving that advanced cancers can be cured by drugs. He is a former president of the American Cancer Society and the coeditor of Cancer: Principles & Practice of Oncology, a textbook of cancer medicine.

Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn has written about medicine, science, and psychology for many publications. She is the author of The Empty Room: Understanding Sibling Loss. She lives in New York City with her husband, the writer Paul Raeburn, and their two sons.

Editorial Reviews

This riveting, beautifully written, and poignant memoir takes us on an enormous journey—from cancer’s past to its future. Vincent T. DeVita Jr. brings us behind the scenes to the invention of breakthrough therapies for some forms of cancer in the 1960s and ’70s. He also provides a much-needed manifesto for the future.” —SIDDHARTHA MUKHERJEE, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies

“The Death of Cancer is an astonishingly good read. Written by a cancer expert who happens to be a cancer survivor as well, it deftly explains the treatments that have turned this insidious disease from a death sentence into a manageable chronic condition for millions of people—and what yet remains to be done. I devoured the book in two sittings, struck, page after page, by its insight, honesty, compassion, and plain common sense.” —DAVID M. OSHINSKY, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Polio: An American Story

“The Death of Cancer is a fascinating insider history of the long battle against one of the world’s most feared diseases, told with both insight and frustration, and ultimately with hope. This collaboration between the former National Cancer Institute director Vincent T. DeVita Jr. and his talented science writer daughter, Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn, results in a wonderfully human portrait of the scientists who join the fight and a wonderfully smart look at the ways we might actually win it.” —DEBORAH BLUM, New York Times–bestselling author of The Poisoner’s Handbook

“Superb science writing . . . One of the most absorbing and empowering science histories to hit the shelves in recent years.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“DeVita blends crisp writing and a gift for explaining complicated scientific concepts clearly with deep knowledge, passion, and wit. The book is by turns entertaining and maddening, but always fascinating. Highly recommended” —Library Journal (starred review)

"DeVita, an oncologist and professor at Yale School of Medicine, collaborates with his daughter DeVita-Raeburn on this engaging, informative, and inspiring history of DeVita’s prominent role in developing innovative cancer treatments . . . They also unveil some startling insights [and] offer salient advice . . . This remarkable memoir doesn’t just urge the public to have hope: it showcases the exciting evidence that we may finally be winning the war on cancer."
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"[A] straight-talking, optimistic memoir."
—Booklist

From the Publisher

…an utterly absorbing memoir, fierce and frank. Ears will burn, memories will doubtless differ on a few counts, and even [DeVita's] take on the particulars of cancer treatment may provoke debate. But the average reader will come away from the book with a superb basic education in all things oncological, from events on the cellular level to those in the rooms where research agendas are settled and checks are written.

The New York Times - Abigail Zuger M.D.

…fascinating…[DeVita] gives an authoritative review of the history of surgery and radiation therapy. His depictions of the behind-the-scenes search for new cancer drugs and the turf wars between radiation, surgical and medical oncologists are dishy and fascinating. He tells many poignant anecdotes…Ultimately, DeVita ably shows that the development of oncology as a modern specialty is a very human story.

The New York Times Book Review - Sandeep Jauhar

★ 08/31/2015
DeVita, an oncologist and professor at Yale School of Medicine, collaborates with his daughter DeVita-Raeburn on this engaging, informative, and inspiring history of DeVita’s prominent role in developing innovative cancer treatments. The authors start with DeVita’s groundbreaking discovery, while at the National Institutes of Health, of a combination chemotherapy treatment that turned Hodgkins lymphoma from a once-fatal diagnosis into one with an 80% cure rate. They also unveil some startling insights into medicine and the development of anticancer drugs, revisiting various episodes of resistance from colleagues in using new therapies, including the one DeVita developed. The book includes offers salient advice for those seeking treatment, and takes on the Federal Drug Administration and its woeful lag in keeping pace with cancer drug development. DeVita’s own battle with prostate cancer teaches him the most important message: “I survived because my doctors were courageous in using the tools we already possessed... and that will allow me to take advantage of new ones.” This remarkable memoir doesn’t just urge the public to have hope: it showcases the exciting evidence that we may finally be winning the war on cancer. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

The Death of Cancer is a fascinating insider history of the long battle against one of the world's most feared diseases, told with both insight and frustration, and ultimately with hope. This collaboration between the former National Cancer Institute director Vincent T. DeVita Jr. and his talented science writer daughter, Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn, results in a wonderfully human portrait of the scientists who join the fight and a wonderfully smart look at the ways we might actually win it.

New York Times–bestselling author of The Poi DEBORAH BLUM

The Death of Cancer is an astonishingly good read. Written by a cancer expert who happens to be a cancer survivor as well, it deftly explains the treatments that have turned this insidious disease from a death sentence into a manageable chronic condition for millions of people--and what yet remains to be done. I devoured the book in two sittings, struck, page after page, by its insight, honesty, compassion, and plain common sense.

Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Polio: DAVID M. OSHINSKY

This riveting, beautifully written, and poignant memoir takes us on an enormous journey--from cancer's past to its future. Vincent T. DeVita Jr. brings us behind the scenes to the invention of breakthrough therapies for some forms of cancer in the 1960s and '70s. He also provides a much-needed manifesto for the future.

Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Emperor SIDDHARTHA MUKHERJEE

★ 09/15/2015
DeVita (medical oncology & epidemiology, Yale Univ.) is a pioneer in the development of chemotherapy and one of the biggest names in oncology. This title, cowritten with the author's daughter DeVita-Raeburn (The Empty Room), a journalist who covers science, health, and society, is a lively personal history of cancer treatment sprinkled with biography, patients' stories, politics, doctors behaving badly, and plenty of unvarnished opinion. DeVita begins with the development of combination chemotherapy in the early 1960s and continues through modern targeted treatments. Along the way, he calls out stubborn physicians and hidebound institutions—by name—but saves his choicest words for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), arguing that patients die because drug approvals take too long, regulations prevent clinical researchers from adjusting research protocols based on early findings, and care guidelines discourage physicians from combining existing therapies in new ways. Yet the title ends on an optimistic note, insisting that we are winning the war on cancer. DeVita blends crisp writing and a gift for explaining complicated scientific concepts clearly with deep knowledge, passion, and wit. The book is by turns entertaining and maddening but always fascinating. VERDICT Highly recommended for all readers interested in cancer or medical research. Those seeking a more comprehensive and a less intimate chronicle should check out Siddhartha Mukherjee's The Emperor of All Maladies.—Janet Crum, Northern Arizona Univ. Lib., Flagstaff

Library Journal

★ 2015-08-09
One of the world's most renowned and forward-thinking oncologists recounts 35 years of cancer research and tells us why we should be optimistic about the future. In the last 20 years, cancer survival rates have skyrocketed thanks to the innovative researchers and physicians pioneering effective therapies. Leading this "war on cancer" is DeVita (Medicine and Epidemiology and Public Health/Yale School of Medicine), whose career credentials include stints as director of the National Cancer Institute, president of the American Cancer Society, and director of the Yale Cancer Center. Even more impressive: he developed a cure for Hodgkin's lymphoma, the first true cure for any form of cancer and the first of many successes to come in the field of combination chemotherapy. In each chapter, the author deftly navigates the many nuances of cancer research and treatment using accessible language to describe exciting technological advances while also providing a gritty look at the uneasy relationship between government and science. On one hand, writes DeVita, programs like the NCI exist because of federal funding, and many of America's cancer centers are among the best in the world. However, the author also delivers a no-holds-barred analysis of bureaucracy's weakness: it remains challenging to get new treatments approved, even in an era in which many cancer drugs show incredible promise. DeVita reports on this and myriad other issues facing cancer doctors and the patients they care for, imbuing his superb science writing with an emotional back story—including his own cancer diagnosis—that enriches the joys and struggles he has faced in his long career. This book is also far more than a history: it's a manifesto in which the author states plainly what needs to be done to eradicate the disease. In the meantime, he arms readers with behind-the-scenes details about where to seek treatment, insisting that we've arrived at "the beginning of the end" of the disease. One of the most absorbing and empowering science histories to hit the shelves in recent years.

Kirkus Reviews