Taming Cancer (ebook)

In a sweeping narrative spanning two centuries of biological discovery, a biochemist and immunologist with 35 years of experience developing innovative cancer drugs tells the origin stories of the astonishing 21st-century cancer treatments that are transforming the paradigm of cancer medicine from the toxic and destructive "cut, burn, and poison" approaches of the past to the use of "living drugs " made from engineered cells, viruses, and other molecular marvels that target the root causes of cancer.

Taming Cancer presents a vision of a time when a diagnosis of metastatic cancer is no longer by default a harbinger of a perilous dance with death. Even today, seemingly magical medicines that attack cancer at its molecular roots and unleash the tumor-destroying power of human immunity are making a difference in the lives of cancer patients and their families, improving both the duration and quality of life for those fortunate enough to benefit from them. For the most responsive patients, this targeted therapeutic approach has the potential to prevent the re-emergence of cancer for decades, and perhaps even achieve the "Holy Grail" of cancer treatment: the eradication of cancer cells from the body, the long-sought cure for cancer.

Written for readers interested in developing a conceptual understanding of cancer and what can be done to confront it, the book also contains extensive endnotes for those who wish to delve deeper into the science. This book provides the information that cancer patients and their loved ones need to navigate the changing landscape of cancer medicine so they can ask the right questions to optimize their therapeutic journey and best alleviate their suffering. Taming Cancer sends a message of hope to cancer patients and their families that will enable the reader to understand and appreciate the marvels of 21st-century biology and its potential to alleviate the human suffering wrought by the most complex and malicious of human maladies.

"Kelner's work is both a tribute to the combined public and private attempt to alleviate the human tragedy of cancer"...his "writing shines in its ability to distill complex scientific concepts into accessible language, making the content valuable for both laypersons and professionals." -Stetson Thacker, Ph.D., Reedsy Discovery

"Cancer is, at its core, a disease of the genome," Kelner writes, explaining with clarity and precision what is now known about how, why, and when cancer forms and spreads...Throughout, Kelner demonstrates a keen facility for the clarifying metaphor... Kelner proves a welcoming guide whose optimism is infectious. This book bursts with good news." -BookLife Reviews by Publisher's Weekly