The true story of the war on cancer from one of its generals

In The Death of Cancer, Dr. Vincent T. DeVita Jr.--former director of the National Cancer Institute, former physician-in-chief at Memorial Sloan Kettering, director of the Yale Cancer Center, former president of the American Cancer Society, and developer of the first successful chemotherapy treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma, which first demonstrated that advanced cancers of a major organ system in adults could be cured by chemotherapy--provides a personal history of one of the greatest science stories of our time, covering our fight against cancer from a man who's seen it all.
But this is more than a history; it's also a work of advocacy. Despite declining mortality rates, DeVita argues, America's cancer patients are being shortchanged by timid doctors, misguided national agendas, and compromised bureaucracies. He gives readers an eye-opening look at the strengths and weaknesses of America's most prestigious cancer centers, showing how patients can use this information to their advantage. Though we're rapidly approaching total victory over cancer, he contends, we need to do more to synthesize our progress and help doctors put it into practice.
This is an ambitious book about a life-or-death subject, a vital entry into the cancer literature genre. With historical depth and authenticity, DeVita brings important information to readers about what cancer is, how best to fight it, and what we still have to learn.

Vincent T. DeVita Jr., M.D., is a professor of medicine and epidemiology and public health at Yale School of Medicine. He was the director of the National Cancer Institute and the National Cancer Program from 1980 to 1988. In 1988 he joined Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center as the physician-in-chief. In 1993 he became the director of the Yale Cancer Center. At the NCI, he developed a cure for Hodgkin's lymphoma with combination chemotherapy, proving that advanced cancers could be cured by drugs. He's a former president of the American Cancer Society and the coeditor of Cancer: Principles & Practice of Oncology, a textbook of cancer medicine. Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn is the author of The Empty Room. She lives in New York City with her husband, the writer Paul Raeburn, and two sons.