Throughout human history, cancer has devastated people and their families, but until recently, little was known about the gruesome disease. As oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee made his oncology rounds during his fellowship, he witnessed the horrors of cancer and yearned to know more about its history, treatment, and prevention. His book, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, he takes the reader on a journey through time, discussing the major events in cancer research. He also analyzes the characteristics of cancer, of what cancer was once though to be, and the changes in the perception of the disease. In all, Mukherjee personifies cancer in his book, and the use of the word ‘biography’ in the title becomes highly appropriate as …show more content…
Throughout these many themes, however, slowly emerges Mukherjee’s main point: cancer is the uncontrolled, immortal version of ourselves. He begins this idea by comparing human civilization to cancer. He quotes, “civilization did not cause cancer, but by extending human life spans – civilization unveiled it,” and as humans continue to conquer the world, cancer joins the quest because not only is it “perhaps more adapted to survival than even we are, [but it is also] a successful invader and colonizer in part because it exploits the very features that make us successful as a species or as an organism” (Mukherjee 44 and 38). Just how humans have exploited and civilized the world, cancer has also emerged, growing rapidly and uncontrollably in the human body. Human colonization and civilization derived from a longing for power, legacy, and immortality, but ironically, as humans “seek immortality, then so…does the cancer cell” (6). In many ways, a cancer cell, with its ability to grow, adapt, and survive, is a more perfect version of a normal cell. Interestingly, however, the cancer cell grows and grows, using its body’s own machinery, until its quest for immortality kills itself. In The Biography of Cancer, as Mukherjee compares cancer and humans as beings of civilization and colonization who seek immortality and even calls cancer a more perfect version of the cell, he hints that it may be the …show more content…
The future of oncotherapy relies on using recent discoveries about the cause of cancer to establish more specific and effective treatments. Cancer is caused by gene mutations that lead to the hallmarks of cancer, like uncontrollable growth. For example, Axel Ullrich and Dennis Slamon discovered that a cell surface growth receptor, Her-2, is overexpressed on the cell surface membrane in a portion of breast cancers (Mukherjee 416). Antibodies or inhibitors to Her-2, or any other protein that a cancer cell requires to live, provides a great source for cancer treatment. The results of many clinical trials showed that the “overall survival in women treated with Herceptin was increased by 33% - a magnitude unprecedented in the history of chemotherapy for Her-2 positive cancer” (Mukherjee 428). Discovery of a mutated gene in a cancer cell led to creating an inhibitor of that protein and resulted in specific and effective treatment for cancer. Cancer treatment has come a long way since the 1980s, especially in this use of molecular biology and chemical design in creating small molecular inhibitors against the cellular pathways that the tumor exploits. The future of oncotherapy lies in sequencing a patient’s tumor to discover the mutations that make the particular tumor cancerous, and then creating a drug to inhibit that specific gene or protein, thus killing the tumor cell and
Plagues and Peoples written by William H. McNeill follows the patterns of epidemics and endemics within human history. It is within this history that McNeill finds parallels between diseases and humans in the forms of microparasitism and macroparasitism. Merely from the title, McNeill gives equal importance to viruses and humankind. In several instances, humans behave the same way viruses, bacteria, and parasites do in order to survive and to compete. Surprisingly enough, McNeill’s overarching theme can be summarized using his last sentence, asserting that “Infectious disease which antedated the emergence of humankind will last as long as humanity itself, and will surely remain, as it has been hitherto, one of the fundamental parameters and
William H. McNeill makes a monumental contribution to the knowledge of humanity in his book Plagues and Peoples. He looks at the history of the world from an ecological point of view. From this viewpoint the history of human civilization is greatly impacted by changing patterns of epidemic infection. Plagues and Peoples suggests that "the time scale of world history...should [be] viewed [through] the "domestication" of epidemic disease that occurred between 1300 and 1700" (page 232). "Domestication" is perceived "as a fundamental breakthrough, directly resulting from the two great transportation revolutions of that age - one by land, initiated by the Mongols, and one by sea, initiated by Europeans" (page 232). This book illustrates how man's environment and its resident diseases have controlled human migration, as well as societal successes and failures. McNeill discusses the political, demographical, and psychological effects of disease on the human race. He informs his audience that epidemics are still a viable threat to society, and warns of potential future consequences.
Cancer is a deadly disease that millions of people die from a year. Many loved ones are killed with little to no warning affecting families across our world. My family happened to be one that was affected by this atrocious disease. This event changed the way my family members and I viewed cancer.
Cancer is the term used to describe a group of diseases consisting of hundreds of ailments and although there exists so many different types of cancer, they all begin in a similar way. The body is made up of over a trillion cells, and cancer is the uncontrolled growth of malfunctioning cells in the body (Dawson, 1996). “Normal body cells grow, divide, and die in an orderly fashion. During the early years of a person’s life, normal cells divide faster to allow the person to grow. After the person becomes an adult, most cells divide only to replace worn-out or dying cells or to repair injuries” (American Cancer Society, 2012).
When the black death mysteriously and suddenly hit Europe, it spread at an unbelievable speed leaving almost no city untouched. The citizens of fourteenth century Europe were unsure of how to cope with half the population being wiped out in such a short time span. What had caused this “great mortality”? Who was really to blame for their suffering? How were they to overcome it? While being overwhelmed with sickness and a number of dilemmas stemming from it, many societies became weak and eventually fell apart.
My sister, Kathy, was diagnosed with cancer in 2013. I was shocked because my sister was always the healthy one among all us girls, the type of cancer, Kathy called colon cancer, Cancer that forms in the tissues of the colon. Most oncogene mutations of indisputable normal genes designate proto-oncogenes. Proto-oncogenes determine the “excellent” genes that usually rule what cell do and the way typically it distribute. Once a factor mutates (changes) into cell, it come back a "hurtful" factor that may become usefulness on or activated once it's not believe to be. Once this occurs, the cell becomes out of management, which might pass to cancer. As scientists learn additional throughout oncogenes, they will be powerful to develop a medication that inhibits or restrain them.
Imagine a world where there was a great chance of a mother dying right after giving birth to her child. Sounds like a pretty crazy supposition. Unfortunately, not too long ago, that was the world we called home. Nuland’s book discusses the unfortunate tragedies of puerperal fever and the journey the medical field in Europe took to discover a cause and prevention. Hand in hand, Nuland also depicts the life of Ignác Semmelweis, the unknown founder of the aforementioned cause and prevention strategies: washing hands in chloride of lime. The Doctors’ Plague is a worthwhile read based off the information provided, its ability to break new ground, and the credibility of its author and sources.
The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee is an in-depth analysis of the history of cancer. The book discusses the beginning stages of cancer when it was merely a confusing phenomenon for doctors that occurred for over a century. For example, "Childhood leukemia had fascinated, confused, and frustrated doctors for more than a century. The disease had been analyzed, classified, sub-classified, and divided meticulously” (Mukherjee 12). Mukherjee is a passionate physician and displays this in his work as a cancer researcher. Mukherjee book consists of his professional experiences working at the Dana-Farber
Cancer has become the one of the most feared things for human beings. The various type of cancer have been discovered and there are still a lot of it that undiscoverable. Cancer is a complex disease that have a group of disease. The cancer itself cannot be describe by words. The causes of this cancer is still not being able to be discovered fully. There are only minor factor that can lead to this disease. The carcinogens are believed to be one of the causes that lead to cancer such as asbestos, radon gas, tobacco, PVC and much more from our chemical industries. The environment especially near to the industrial that produce chemical waste can be one of the causes lead to cancer. Cancer also have relation with our age, lifestyle, and diet and also can be genetically inherited. It is believed that older people have higher tendency to get cancer than younger people. Our lifestyle and diet also plays a role causing a cancer by our daily life routine. Smoking tobacco and eating unconsciously (still in research) can also increase the possibility to get cancer especially lung cancer that cause by smoking tobacco. There are several cases, cancer were inherited from their parents. Various type of viruses such as HIV, HPV, EBV and many more virus has a high capabilities to increase the chance a patient to get a cancer because these viruses lower their body immunity to disease.
Cancer is a term used for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and begin to invade other tissues. The term cancer is also used when cells start to produce too quickly when there are not enough cells dying. Cancer cells are also called malignant cells. Cancerous cells are able to invade other healthy cells and can spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems.
Isn’t it overwhelming to consider the fact that approximately one in eight deaths in the world are due to cancer? To make this more comprehensible, the number of deaths caused by cancer is greater than caused by AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. Along with the idea that this disease does not have a definite cure is a mind-staggering concept to grasp. If not caught in time, cancer means guaranteed death. These types of thoughts were floating around my head when my mother had told me that my father had mouth cancer.
No Regrets for the Confidence Betrayed Cheating has been around since the dawn of time. Kids have been writing answers on their hand, arm, small pieces of paper, and using those notes to cheat on tests, quizzes, competitions, etc. The Emperor's Club shows this. In the film, Mr. Hundert is a history teacher at St. Benedick's School for Boys. His class consists of people who want to be there, learn, and achieve the great honor of being Mr. Julius Caesar.
...of not only them but also other things. (Schulz 2005). Finally, in conclusion, gene mutations and alterations affect the body’s ability to control the rate of cell division, which therefore defines cancer the direct result of gene mutation. Cells affected by mutations are exposed to the reproduction into a tumour. Once the tumour expands in growth, more and more mutations occur in subsequent cell divisions and eventually become a dysplasia and instigates invasion into surrounding tissues. In simpler terms, the cancer is spread to other organs and parts of the body. Following this, metastasis occurs resulting in the cancer spreading through the person and/or animals blood stream and/or lymphatic systems and forms other colonies which thus secretes other harmful organelles, and also disrupts normal bodily function, and possibly leading to and eventuating in death.
The American Cancer Society publishes current advances made in cancer research on their website. Many of the exciting discoveries about how best to treat the disease focus on the genetic aspects associated with certain types of cancer. In addition, treatments aimed at genetic solutions to cancer may be more effective and may cause fewer adverse side effects than traditional cancer treatments (American Can...
During the 15th century, scientists started grasping a better understanding of the human body. Giovanni Morgangi was the first to perform autopsies on patients to relate to their illnesses along with the finding of cancer after death. This laid the foundation of scientific oncology, the study of cancer. Over the years, scientists have realized that the disease they thought they distinguished was very dissimilar to the diseases they currently study today. There are over 200 types of cancer in the world today. Scientists continue to study every day to be able to come closer to finding a cure finding for this awful disease.