To Be of Use: Five Decades as a Cancer Doctor Including the Story of the Conquest of Childhood Leukemia

The year is 1971. Childhood leukemia the most feared disease in the era of antibiotics is the most common cancer of childhood and 100% fatal. These are trying times for those like me who unaccountably have chosen the field of pediatric oncology. In the absence of effective treatment we have little to offer but our good intentions. On the other hand things couldnt get much worse so we are certain that they must get better. Little do we know however that we are on the cusp of a breakthrough. It has been observed that remissions achieved with combinations of chemotherapy drugs often end with the appearance of leukemic cells in the nervous system. Perhaps the nervous system is a sanctuary site where drugs cannot reach leukemic cells. To address this problem radiation is given to the brain. Within a few years we notice that many children are still in remission longer than expected. Ultimately we are willing to call them cured. This book relates this and numerous other major developments In cancer treatment as experienced by the author who provides his personal perspective on those people and events which moved the field forward and others that didnt. The current status is critically and sometimes humorously reviewed.