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The Cancer Treatment Revolution

The Cancer Treatment Revolution book

Since the mid-1950s, when he witnessed some of the first patient experiments using combination chemotherapy, David G. Nathan, MD, has played a pivotal role in the dramatic history of cancer care and research.

Now, Nathan — an acclaimed pediatric hematologist who served as Dana-Farber's president from 1995 to 2000 and has long been affiliated with Children's Hospital Boston — recounts that history's triumphs and struggles in a book called The Cancer Treatment Revolution: How Smart Drugs and Other New Therapies Are Renewing Our Hope and Changing the Face of Medicine.

Published in March by John Wiley & Sons, the work recounts the stories of three patients with invasive cancers treated at Dana-Farber and its partners in care: Mario, a 19-month-old boy diagnosed with leukemia; Joan, a 62-year-old woman facing metastatic breast cancer; and Ken, a 48-year-old who endured multiple clinical trials for gastrointestinal stromal tumor before his death in 2005. The pages are peppered with the insights of current and former Dana-Farber physicians, researchers, and other staff members.

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Related Audio

Dr. Nathan on Fresh Air with Terry Gross

New cancer-fighting techniques, including drugs designed to target cancer cells, mean thousands of patients are surviving cancer, former Dana-Farber President David G. Nathan tells Terry Gross on National Public Radio's Fresh Air. (April 3, 2007)

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Related Video

Dr. Nathan on The Charlie Rose Show

Dr. David Nathan joined a panel discussion on the latest developments in cancer care and research. (April 18, 2007)

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