The Secret History of the War on Cancer Audiobook

" Disturbing to read that most of the carcinogens believed to cause some cancers were discovered 75 to 100 years ago. Not surprising to learn that the major cancer efforts have not taken advantage of many of the earlier discoveries. "

" Being a anti-cancer warrior, I figured I should read this book to get the inside scoop. I found the the first couple of chapters hard to read but eventually decided to skip ahead and the rest of the book was actually engrossing. The first chapters represented what I liked least about the book: a style of writing that involves drifting in and out of detailed backstory, personal anecdotes, and historical vignettes. For instance, she starts a chapter describing the travels of a pathologist from Chicago to Brussels to attend an influential cancer conferene in 1936. This story then yields way to how cancer was known and treated in Egypt in 900 BC, then how x-rays were developed, then back to that cancer congress, then the story of an immigrant working in an IBM "clean room" that develops cancer, etc. I guess the personalized stories and switching back and forth from storylines is supposed to lure you in, but I found it frustrating to have to wade through - and often unclear what the point was. I think the book could be half as long and cut out a lot of the anecdotal implications of environmental hazards that make the book seem sketchy. Eventually it became more focused. There are sections on the histories of the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute which were very interesting, and still relevant today. A central theme of the book that comes through is: why does it take us so long to identify and rectify major threats to our health? Why did it take so many smoking- and asbestos-related deaths before we could agree they were a bad idea? She seems to believe that our reliance on good epidemiology essentially leads to an unacceptable delay in preventing harms. She goes even farther by implying that the rise of epidemiology as a field (and our most famous epidemiologists) was shepharded by the tobacco and asbestos industries, who sought to dismiss animal experiments and embrace long term cohort studies as the only relevant form of evidence. In this way they could delay any regulatory action until long term studies were completed. She also takes a fairly hard line on the consulting fees accepted by our most famous epidemiologists from the tobacco, asbestos, and other industries. This section will give epidemiologists something to ponder in thinking about causality and public health (and their epi heros). We can only show that something is harmful after a large enough number of people have died or developed a disease. Is this retrospective approach the preferred framework for protecting the public? Should more weight be given to animal or in vitro studies, or should we continue to encourage and demand what Davis considers involuntary experimentation on large populations of humans? Obviously this is a complicated question. I thought calling this book the "Secret History of the War on Cancer" was a little exaggerated - I can't say I was shocked about too much of anything. Overall, I did learn some very intriguing things - things that I feel I should have known about as a cancer epidemiologist. "

" This book tells about the other "inconvenient truth"--that the war against cancer has been woefully mismanaged with a greater focus on protecting profits, rather than people's health. It was frightening to confirm what I already suspected, which is that the environment, the workplace, the water we drink and the food we eat (among a long list of factors) are linked to cancer. The burden of proof about what causes cancer has been on the scientific community rather than those who produce toxic fumes, pollute drinking water, and create products like aspartame. The greatest focus in the war on cancer has been on treatment rather than prevention for the obvious reason that there is more money to be made with treatment. As someone who has lost many close relatives to cancer, this book was quite upsetting; however, it motivated me to evaluate my life choices and ask questions so that I can try to remain free of cancer. "

" Fascinating account of government and industry's favoring of profit over human health - written by a Ph.D. Epidemiologist that knows how to write for the general public...I learned that cigarette companies once tried to convince the public that their new filtered cigarettes were safer - they used asbestos to create these filters. And I also learned not to let my kids use cell phones...this was a very good book, but definitely not fast reading for me... "

" I really liked this one - great historical information about the "war" on cancer that you can't find elsewhere. The only thing I didn't like was that the author repeated herself several times on a few points. If she would've had a better editor, I'd have given this book five stars. "

" You could tell that Davis knew her field really well, and had been affected by cancer first hand in her life. Her experience played into the flow of the book, but it tainted the evidence presented. "

" This is an eye-opener that most should take the time to read. It is very well researched and shows how much information can and is kept out of the public eye. "

" still working on this one...fascinating/scary so far! "

" The book makes some interesting points but it over steps on several of them as well. Combined with a tedious writing style (someone please have a sit down with her editor). Instead of sticking with the science the author weaves way too much of her own story into the book (boring). "

" This is a really informative book that makes you think about what you eat and your environment. I'm pretty sure reading this book will help you lower you chances of getting a couple different kinds of cancer. It also shows how corrupt the cancer research industry can be. "

" This is a fascinating book, so far! "

" This book has me thinking and reading product labels. I replaced my soap, shampoo & deodorant. I didn't know that in the 1950s 7 out of 10 men in America smoked! I'm in the cleaning industry too and am rethinking my exposure to chemicals. "

" A fascinating and frightening read. The authors experience, knowledge and passion convinces that we are building a world lined in carcinogenic chemicals and radiation. Her digressive philosophical musings on NDEs and the hearing ability of the comatose keeps the book from being dry. "

" You should be very afraid "

" Awesome. I skipped most of the stuff on the cigarette industry. I learned that HPV not only causes cervical cancer, but also cancer of the larynx and anus. "

" Informative and to the point in the subject of cancer. Learned so much...although depressing to discover. "

" A fascinating and frightening read. The authors experience, knowledge and passion convinces that we are building a world lined in carcinogenic chemicals and radiation. Her digressive philosophical musings on NDEs and the hearing ability of the comatose keeps the book from being dry. "

" Very educational, makes one think - have we really achieved much in cancer treatment over the last 20 years? "

" This book is fascinating. I can't wait to check it out again. I learned a lot of interesting history. "