A life-affirming and reassuring analysis that treats cancer as a subject of study for the natural historian and social scientist
When science writer George Johnsons partner Nancy was diagnosed as having cancer, he reacted in a surprising manner. He decided to gather as much information as he could about the condition, and assess how much science has learned about cancer in recent years and the risks that the condition poses to our lives today. The result is a tender, life-affirming, slightly reassuring analysis of a much-feared subject, one that treats cancer not just a medical condition that requires treatment but as a subject of study for the historian, the natural historian and the social scientist.
For a start, there is a clear hierarchy in the animal world when it comes to cancer, Johnson reveals. Mammals appear to get more cancer than reptiles or fish, which in turn get more cancer than amphibians, he observes. Domesticated animals seem to get more cancer than their cousins in the wild. And people get the most cancer of all.
Continue reading...