When the woman he loved was diagnosed with a metastatic cancer, science writer George Johnson embarked on a journey to learn everything he could about the disease and the people who dedicate their lives to understanding and combating it. What he discovered is a revolution under way—an explosion of new ideas about what cancer really is and where it comes from. In a provocative and intellectually vibrant exploration, he takes us on an adventure through the history and recent advances of cancer research that will challenge everything you thought you knew about the disease. Deftly excavating and illuminating decades of investigation and analysis, he reveals what we know and don’t know about cancer, showing why a cure remains such a slippery concept. We follow him as he combs through the realms of epidemiology, clinical trials, laboratory experiments, and scientific hypotheses—rooted in every discipline from evolutionary biology to game theory and physics. Cogently extracting fact from a towering canon of myth and hype, he describes tumors that evolve like alien creatures inside the body, paleo-oncologists who uncover petrified tumors clinging to the skeletons of dinosaurs and ancient human ancestors, and the surprising reversals in science’s comprehension of the causes of cancer, with the foods we eat and environmental toxins playing a lesser role. Perhaps most fascinating of all is how cancer borrows natural processes involved in the healing of a wound or the unfolding of a human embryo and turns them, jujitsu-like, against the body. Throughout his pursuit, Johnson clarifies the human experience of cancer with elegiac grace, bearing witness to the punishing gauntlet of consultations, surgeries, targeted therapies, and other treatments. He finds compassion, solace, and community among a vast network of patients and professionals committed to the fight and wrestles to comprehend the cruel randomness cancer metes out in his own family. For anyone whose life has been affected by cancer and has found themselves asking why?, this book provides a new understanding. In good company with the works of Atul Gawande, Siddhartha Mukherjee, and Abraham Verghese, The Cancer Chronicles is endlessly surprising and as radiant in its prose as it is authoritative in its eye-opening science.

When the woman he loved was diagnosed with a metastatic cancer, science-writer George Johnson embarked on a journey to learn everything he could about the disease and the people who dedicate their lives to understanding and combating it. What he discovered is that a revolution is now under way – an explosion of new ideas about what cancer really is and where it comes from. He combs through the realms of epidemiology, clinical trials, laboratory experiments and scientific hypotheses, to reveal what we know and don’t know about cancer, showing why a cure remains such a slippery concept. His luminous accounts describe tumors that evolve like alien creatures inside the body, paleo-oncologists who uncover petrified tumors clinging to the skeletons of dinosaurs and ancient human ancestors, and the surprising reversals in science’s comprehension of the causes of cancer, with the foods we eat and environmental toxins playing a lesser role. Perhaps most fascinating of all is how cancer borrows natural processes involved in the healing of a wound or the unfolding of a human embryo and turns them against the body. Throughout his pursuit, Johnson illuminates the human experience with elegiac grace, bearing witness to the punishing gauntlet of consultations, surgeries, targeted therapies and other treatments. Provocative and intellectually vibrant, The Cancer Chronicles will challenge everything you thought you knew about the disease – and provide hope for tomorrow and the future.

"Don't you ever get tired of being so positive?" my niece blurted out one day. Was my enthusiasm about my remaining treatment options so disheartening that even upbeat Stephanie struggled to see the hope in my situation? Cancer had changed me. I have grown. I've learned to not only survive with lung cancer, but to thrive with it.

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A decade ago Leaf, a cancer survivor himself, began to investigate why we had made such limited progress fighting this terrifying disease. The result is a gripping narrative that reveals why the public's immense investment in research has been badly misspent, why scientists seldom collaborate and share their data, why new drugs are so expensive yet routinely fail, and why our best hope for progress-- brilliant young scientists-- are now abandoning the search for a cure.

A New York Times Notable Book of 2013 When the woman he loved was diagnosed with a metastatic cancer, George Johnson set out to learn everything he could about the disease and the people who spend their careers trying to understand and to fight it. What he discovered is a revolution under way—an explosion of new ideas about what cancer really is and where it comes from. Deftly excavating and illuminating decades of investigation and analysis, rooted in every discipline from evolutionary biology to game theory and physics, Johnson explores what we know—and what we still don't—about cancer, and why a cure remains such a slippery goal. Throughout his pursuit, Johnson clarifies the human experience of cancer with grace, bearing witness to the punishing gauntlet of consultations, surgeries, targeted therapies, and other treatments. Through Johnson’s radiant prose and authoritative perspective on science, he takes us on an adventure through the history and recent advances in cancer research that will challenge everything you thought you knew about the disease.

“Not so much poems, more titles gone mad.” The Cancer Chronicles is a collection of thirteen poems by the artist Damien Hirst. Hirst wrote the book to accompany his work Romance in the Age of Uncertainty – Jesus & His Disciples (Death, Martyrdom, Suicide & Ascension), (not illustrated). Each poem shares a title with the installed elements of the piece, which include thirteen steel and glass cabinets each alluding to the life and death of the Apostles. In his first published book of writing Hirst explores in written form some of the motifs that have endured in his work: death, decay, disease and belief. The poems provide further insight into Hirst’s sculptural works, but please do not read this publication whilst listening to the music.