harinid's review
5.0
The First Cell by Azra Raza is a book that is in equal parts harrowing, stimulating and informative. Dr. Raza in establishing her hypothesis that the more effective way to spend R&D dollars in cancer therapy is on having a disproportionate amount of resources allocated to early detection (detection of the first cell) vs. spending billions on drugs that work on specific indications/ manifestations of the disease, draws on the pragmatic problems faced by the cancer patients and families as well as emotional. In highlighting that majority of cancer therapies available take a slash (surgery), poison (chemotherapy) or burn (radiation) approach, she brings out almost a medieval mindset that still persists in oncology.
This book was not a bland/ drag read on a very technical subject. The book, in drawing inspiration from poetry (English and Urdu alike), personal stories of patients and from other fields of study, makes the conversation on cancer far more accessible to all. Highly recommend this book- if for nothing else, just to rethink how we approach any class of therapy for any disease really; and of course for the interspersed poetry in the book, directly and indirectly through the author's own command over language.
This book was not a bland/ drag read on a very technical subject. The book, in drawing inspiration from poetry (English and Urdu alike), personal stories of patients and from other fields of study, makes the conversation on cancer far more accessible to all. Highly recommend this book- if for nothing else, just to rethink how we approach any class of therapy for any disease really; and of course for the interspersed poetry in the book, directly and indirectly through the author's own command over language.
cobyrowley's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.5
Dr. Raza explores many patients' stories, including the perspective of family members. This storytelling and addition of multiple points of view from close friends and family make each person's story tragic and heartbreaking in their own right. The heartbreak and grief of these patients and their respective families underscores the importance of the much-needed paradigm shift she has been endorsing for decades: the study of cancer-specific screenings to detect and possibly locate aggressive cancers in their infancy. She speaks out against in vivo and in vitro studies that pursue cancer medications and explains the passenger mutations of clonal cells to the reader at a simple level; at the same time, Raza's literacy and descriptiveness challenged me to attempt to understand these concepts intricately yet at a surface level. This is a great book and a blaring wake-up call to the current state of cancer medicine research.
studyingnovels's review against another edition
4.0
A very informative and eye opening novel in which Dr. Raza shares insight not just on cancer, but into the reality of having cancer or being someone who has a loved one with cancer. For many it is a disease that means death, but for many it has also become a challenge as something they must overcome. I’ll be honest at times it was a difficult read as I have had a relative recently die from a form of cancer and this book does not shy away from the realities of the disease. It is a must read though not just for those who have experienced it in some form, but to also gain a better understanding. Dr. Raza’s vulnerability is on display in this book and it brings faces to the millions of those affected by cancer and for those who decide to learn more. My wish is that we are able to find a cure in this lifetime or at least better policies to detect the disease early. With more awareness and pressure put onto the government, everyday we come closer to providing more life.
As Dr. Raza notes:
“The future is in preventing cancer by identifying the earliest markers of the first cancer cell rather than chasing after the last”
As Dr. Raza notes:
“The future is in preventing cancer by identifying the earliest markers of the first cancer cell rather than chasing after the last”
cathy1665's review
3.0
Dr Azra has a point of view about early detection of cancer and whether or not animal testing can translate to treatment for humans. Not as relatable, for me, as Being Mortal by Atul Gawande.
jake_wont_shut_up's review
5.0
I'll give it 5 because there are sections of this book that everyone needs to read. Some of it is extremely difficult, whether because of the scientific understanding required or the struggles terminal patients and their families go through.
I'd like to send a copy of this to every member of Congress. Can we get funding for ideas that are actually showing results instead of treatments that increase survival by a week?
I'd like to send a copy of this to every member of Congress. Can we get funding for ideas that are actually showing results instead of treatments that increase survival by a week?
bookanonjeff's review
5.0
The Myth Of (Cancer) Experience. This book actually does a phenomenal job of using both hard data and anecdotal case studies to show what the current state of cancer research and treatment is - and why it is costing us far too much in both lives and dollars. This is a cancer doc/ researcher who has been in the field longer than this reader has been alive, and yet she attacks the problem in a way that genuinely makes sense: if cancer is effectively a group of cells that begin replicating uncontrollably, the best way to eliminate this phenomenon is to detect these cells as early as possible and eliminate them before they become problematic. Using several patient case studies - including her husband, who apparently started out as her boss, and her daughter's best friend among them - Raza does an excellent job of providing names and faces (yes, the book has pictures of the patients as well) to go along with the alarming yet decently documented data. (Roughly 18% of the book is bibliography, which is perhaps a touch low - 25-30% is more typical - but is better than one might expect from such a case study driven narrative.) Ultimately this book actually makes the case for The Myth of Experience better than the authors of the book by that title did, which is actually fairly interesting to this reader. :) And the Urdu poetry (with English translations as well) was a nice touch to lighten a text that could otherwise be a bit dreary. Very much recommended.