Around one in three people will at some time in their lives be diagnosed with cancer. For Western societies relishing health, wealth, and longevity, its continued prominence is one of the greatest challenges to science. Cancer is extraordinarily diverse in its causation, symptoms, likelihood of effective treatment - in some sense, every patient's cancer is unique, and that is part of the problem. Mel Greaves explains why the old paradigms of infectious diseases or genetic disorders have proved fruitless, and claims that by looking at cancer in its evolutionary context, we can begin to answer some of the big questions in cancer that concern us all. Drawing on both ancient and more modern evolutionary legacies, he shows how human development has changed the rules of evolutionary games, trapping us in a nature-nurture mismatch.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more. |
Book Description
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Amazon Review
Cancer is one of the major afflictions of society today, especially in the developed world. The disease develops as a chromosomal gene disorder in single cells. Worldwide, over eight million new cancer diagnoses are delivered each year and every day 1500 Americans die of the disease. Mel Greaves shows in The Deepest Legacy that the disease has been around for a long time, even dinosaurs got it 200 million years ago. Cancer does not select its victims on a basis of wealth, race, religion or intelligence. No one is immune to it but which cancer you are likely to get depends on many factors--where you live, what you eat and smoke and the genes you have inherited from your parents.
Greaves is a British professor of cell biology at the Institute of Cancer Research in London, knows what he is writing about and manages to deal with this very complex and pervasive problem in an understandable way for the general reader. He uses a wealth of stories and anecdotes to illustrate the history of discovery and understanding of this group of diseases, their curious geographical distribution and evolution. Most importantly, Greaves manages to clearly differentiate between what is understood and what is still speculation.
This is not dumbed down science, be prepared to concentrate if you are to get the full value of what he is explaining. Cancer is more complex than the 5000 other human genetic diseases that arise as inherited, single gene traits. Unfortunately, the painful reality is that there is no holy grail, no magic cure-all bullet and no quick fix. But as Greaves says, demystifying the disease is to travel over a new and more realistic landscape. If you know anyone who still smokes, give them a copy. Notes, further reading and addresses for help and advice about cancer make this more than just a fascinating read. --Douglas Palmer
Review
...a cleverly paced and extremely informative guide to current thinking about the evolutionary biology of cancer. -- The Lancet, March 3, 2001
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Allow me to start with the bad news will you? Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Allow me to start with the bad news will you? Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
A highly informative account of cancer from a darwinian evolutionary perspective. Very well-written and a pleasure to read. Greatly recommended.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars
4 reviews
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A new perspective on cancer
22 May 2000
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Greaves does an excellent job of explaining how evolution applies to cancer. How did cancer survive throughout evolution? How do cancer cells go through a Darwinian process of survival of the fittest? How are some cells resistant to chemotherapy? He answers all of these.
He also points out that, contrary to popular opinion, in many cases, it is impossible to point to a single "cause" for a person's cancer. People want to point blame somewhere, but cancer takes a series of DNA mutations to get going in a cell. This may happen over a lifetime of exposure to various things.
All in all, very good for anybody who is interested in this topic -- and perhaps even if you don't think you are.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thorough discussion made interesting
9 Sep 2001
By W. Hoffman
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Dr. Greaves does a great job of navigating the myths, evolution, paradoxes, and treatments of cancer. The amazing accomplishment of this author is that he can do all this while keeping the lay person interested, even injecting some humor. What other cancer researcher would first detail the high incidence of cancer of the esophagus in the Hubei province of China, then discuss how that same diet causes cancer in their chickens and end the discussion saying "Not unambiguous evidence maybe, but if I was a chicken, I would ask for a transfer."
All is not lighthearted, of course, in a discussion of cancer. The interesting mosaic which Greaves creates discusses the varied alleged causes of various types of cancer, including social, demographic, economic, dietary, and of course hereditary. He then gives an excellent argument for the prevention rather than cure of cancers. For example, he states that for "every 1,000 young men adopting a life time habit of smoking, on average one will be murdered, six will die in road traffic accidents and 250 will die ot tobacco-related deaths including lung cancer." Sobering statistics for the deadly life decision to keep this habit.
If you have any interest in cancer, read this book. Be prepared to work through some jargon, but with Greaves writing style, you'll enjoy the read.
All is not lighthearted, of course, in a discussion of cancer. The interesting mosaic which Greaves creates discusses the varied alleged causes of various types of cancer, including social, demographic, economic, dietary, and of course hereditary. He then gives an excellent argument for the prevention rather than cure of cancers. For example, he states that for "every 1,000 young men adopting a life time habit of smoking, on average one will be murdered, six will die in road traffic accidents and 250 will die ot tobacco-related deaths including lung cancer." Sobering statistics for the deadly life decision to keep this habit.
If you have any interest in cancer, read this book. Be prepared to work through some jargon, but with Greaves writing style, you'll enjoy the read.
3.0 out of 5 stars
its just a history, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
12 Mar 2013
By kk
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, is by far a better read this one. save you money and in vest in Mukherjee work you wont regret it, its really good.
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 4 reviews
4.2 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Health, Family & Lifestyle > Medical & Healthcare Practitioners > Internal Medicine > Diseases & Disorders > Oncology
- Books > Science & Nature > Biological Sciences > Biological Science
- Books > Science & Nature > Biological Sciences > Evolution
- Books > Science & Nature > Biological Sciences > Human Biology > Biological Anthropology
- Books > Science & Nature > Medicine > Medical Sciences A-Z > Oncology
- Books > Scientific, Technical & Medical
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Anthropology > Physical
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
