A radical synthesis of science and personal experience that advocates a sea change in the way we understand and confront cancer
When David Servan- Schreiber, a dedicated scientist and doctor, was diagnosed with brain cancer, it changed his life. Confronting what medicine knows about the illness, the little known workings of the bodys natural cancer-fighting capacities, and his own will to live, Servan-Schreiber found himself on a fifteen-year journey from disease and relapse into scientific exploration, and finally to health. Combining memoir with a clear explanation of what makes cancer cells thrive and what inhibits them, and describing both conventional and alternative ways to slow and prevent cancer, Anticancer is revolutionary in its clarity. It is a moving story of a doctors inner and outer search for healing; radical in its discussion of the environment, lifestyle, and trauma; and inspiring and cautionary in its certainty that cancer cells lie dormant in all of usand we all must care for the terrain in which they exist.
Anticancer takes us on a serious journey and, ultimately, an empowering one. In the tradition of Michael Pollan, John Kabat- Zinn, Barbara Kingsolver, and Andrew Weil, Anticancer genuinely guides us to a new way of life.
I've had 8 female friends diagnosed with cancer in the past 2 years. These friends are aged from 30 to 49, do not smoke, do not drink heavily, are not overweight, and all but of them one has children. Needless to say, I wanted to learn more about cancer and how it might affect my family. I immediately started reading this book after it was delivered, and could not put it down. There were a lot of "aha" moments for me while reading this book. I feel like I've learned a lot about cancer and how I might be able to ward it off. If I had one suggestion on how to make this book better, I would ask the author for resources on locating foods he suggests eating. For instance, I've had a difficult time finding organic grass-fed dairy products. One local natural foods store did have organic milk made from grass-fed cows, but it was unpasturized. Because I have little kids, I'm wary of an unpasturized product. That unpasturized milk was the only grass-fed dairy product I found after looking all day at several markets...no cheese, yogurt, etc. Also, no employees at the markets knew if their organic poultry was grass-fed. Since I live in Sonoma County, California - an area where "local" and "organic" food stores are popular - I thought getting these foods would be easy. So far, it hasn't been that easy. I would love to know how and where the author shops, so I can feed my family the same wholesome food.
What a fantastic book.
David Servan-Schreiber is able to connect with a cancer patient/reader by being empathetic and informative at the same time. While he's realistic about the cancer odds, he's able to point out the bright side.
He takes all the cancer research that's out there.. and put it into plain and understandable text.
I HIGHLY recommend this book for anyone who has cancer or wants to prevent it.
David has written a profoundly important book and has also told a very important personal story. All too often we are intimated by both doctors and by the simple statement from a doctor that we are no longer a person but have become a disease. Having been deeply involved in the medical and pharmaceutical world myself I followed the same path as David has when I was diagnosed 6 years ago with 'terminal leukemia' and given two years to live. That I am writing this review demonstrates the essential truths in this superb book.
My story,The Journey of a Newly Diagnosed CLL Patient, is told at CLL Topics (www.clltopics.org)
Thank you David for doing a much better job of moving from your own experience to helping others learn from your expertise and experience.
