The Secret History of the War on Cancer Review

Manufacturer: Basic Books
Author(s): Devra Davis

ISBN: 0465015662 EAN: 9780465015665
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 528

Average Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

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The War on Cancer set out to find, treat, and cure a disease. Left untouched were many of the things known to cause cancer, including tobacco, the workplace, radiation, or the global environment. Proof of how the world in which we live and work affects whether we get cancer was either overlooked or suppressed. This has been no accident. The War on Cancer was run by leaders of industries that made cancer-causing products, and sometimes also profited from drugs and technologies for finding and treating the disease. Filled with compelling personalities and never-before-revealed information, The Secret History of the War on Cancer shows how we began fighting the wrong war, with the wrong weapons, against the wrong enemies-a legacy that persists to this day. This is the gripping story of a major public health effort diverted and distorted for private gain. A portion of the profits from this book will go to support research on cancer prevention.

User Submitted The Secret History of the War on Cancer Reviews

October 14, 2008
Causes of Cancer Have Been Known for 100 Years
From: www.BasilAndSpice.com
Author & Book Views On A Healthy Life!

Book Review: The Secret History of the War On Cancer (Basic Books, 2007)by Devra Davis, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Devra Davis, Ph.D., M.P.H.,author of When Smoke Ran Like Water and The Secret History of the War on Cancer, is the Director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health.

It seems to most of us that cancer is everywhere today. We all know someone who either has it or who has died from the disease. There's an underlying fear of it touching us, or even our children. In 1996, I was living with two young children in the center of an outbreak of neuroblastomas in local children. Only after reaching hospitals specializing in children's brain cancer treatment, parents of these children met each other and realized that our city had a problem. Our greatest fear had materialized, the source, never located.

Dr. Davis states that in America and England, one out of every two men and one out of every three women will develop cancer in their lifetime. In the U.S. today, there are more than 10 million cancer survivors. It is the primary cause of death for middle-aged persons, and the second cause of deaths in children. Usually aging is a significant factor in the cause of cancer, but this is not necessarily the case in today's world.

The rates of many cancers are increasing. In fact, the aging baby boomer generation has been referred to as a "tsunami" of cancer. "Cancer," Dr. Davis says, "Develops not because of one unique circumstance, whether hereditary or environmental, but out of the sum total of the goods and bads of our lives.....Where and when we are born and what we work and play with has a lot more to do with whether we get cancer than who our parents happen to be." Of those diagnosed with the disease, more than half will not live ten years.

I've often heard that the dangers of smoking were not known back in the 1960's. I used to crack the back seat window and breathe in the fresh, but frigid Michigan air, as my father smoked in the front of the car. Dr. Davis elaborates that for practically 100 years, the causes of cancer have been known: smoking, sunlight, industrial chemicals, hormones, bad nutrition, alcohol, and bad luck. In chapter two "Natural and Other Experiments," from The Secret History of the War on Cancer a reference is made to the Second International Congress of Scientific and Social Campaign Against Cancer from a memoir by experimentalist Isaac Berenblum. In 1936 cancer specialists from around the world convened in Brussels, Belgium. This meeting was a culmination of physician scientists, compiling all that they knew. Some cancer origins were identified as long ago as the Middle Ages, most work related: mining, painting, smelting, forging, distilling, curing, smoking, grinding, and cleaning.

Our bodies are a living history of where we were born, what we ate, and how we worked. Cancer prevention is certainly a key component to possibly life without the disease. I highly recommend The Secret History of the War on Cancer.

5 Stars

September 9, 2008
Read Gary Taubes' "Good Calories, Bad Calories" instead.
Some points: Higher rates of cancer among those of African descent may be on account of especially lower vitamin D levels in them not supposedly greater exposure to carcinogens.

Doll and Peto, who rightly deserve the greatest credit for their research into and explanation of environmental factors with respect to cancers were, aside from cigarettes, chiefly concerned with diet. They implicated carbohydrate consumption NOT fats. Read Gary Taubes on this in his book, "Good Calories, Bad Calories." Davis is right to point out the cancer industry's willfull blindness to environmental factors - prefering, instead, the development of expensive and highly profitable treatments. A predictable feature of our greed driven medical industry. As equally predictable is her critique - one which is always looking for the latest mysterious chemical of which to make a new bugaboo. Meanwhile, the profundity of the gross overconsumption of carbohydrates is dismissed. So from the likes of Davis we hear the same worn advice to eat more fruit and avoid fats. Read Taubes.

July 18, 2008
Trust us - The search for a cancer cure is a Fraud!
I thought this was generally a good book because it draws more attention to the fact the organized medicine is entirely different than it appears to be. Cancer cures are not what they are searching for, they are searching for new ways to make even greater fortunes on cancer treatment. Do a google search on the use of proton therapy for cancer and you'll see what I mean. It's very expensive and it hasn't proven to be any better than chemo or radiation, both of which take a horrible toll on the patient's immune system.

Numerous cures for cancer have already been discovered and effectively suppressed. Take the discoveries of Davis and Rawls, for example. Albert Roy Davis and Walter Rawls found through many years of research that North pole magnetic fields were extremely effective in halting the growth of cancer while strengthening the tissue surrounding the cancer, minimizing the chances of the cancer spreading. South pole magnetic fields had the opposite effect. They increased the growth of cancer in the body. There's your scientific evidence for whether or not power lines can affect the growth of cancer. South pole magnetic fields do increase the growth of cancer, and power lines are one of many sources of South pole magnetic exposure in our environment. Your telephone is another. Davis and Rawls wrote some great books that I highly recommend reading.

My best advice to anyone with cancer would be to do lots and lots of research on alternatives to conventional medicine, and use a combination of them. Aloe Vera is another one to look into. What it can do for the body is truly amazing. Yep, it's superb for much more than just sunburn. Plus, it can be grown almost anywhere on earth, indoors or outdoors.

June 4, 2008
The Real Story on Cancer
No wonder people want to shut her down - she cites the truth about corporations and government and where the money goes (and should be going). And stop handing out those stupid pink ribbons & bears and address the real problems.

May 12, 2008
What we need to know.
I found this to be a coherent and easy to read book in which Devra Davis presents a logical explanation of various kinds causes of cancer from industry to personal products. The general public needs this kind of information in order to avoid cancer causing materials as much as possible, and to learn the truth about some research. The statement that of all the billions of dollars that the Cancer Sociey has raised only ten per cent goes to research is an eye opener.

April 24, 2008
The Secret Hitory in the War on Cancer
This book is a must read for everyone, not just cancer patients. It is quite eye opening what most people do not know about how important health issues are many times swept under the rug by governments. I had suspected many of these results, but to find they are accurate is very discouraging. Had issues been handled differently, many people would not have suffered and died as a result.

March 27, 2008
Sobering truths
The Secret History of the War on Cancer would have been written many years ago, but the author was warned it might cost her her job at the National Institutes of Health due to its revelations. This is a very important book and quite enlightening. Written by an insider and scientist, it brings authority to the secret life of big business and our health systems. Be forwarned, it is hair-raising in its thorough analysis of how profits corrupt every aspect of our lives.

March 20, 2008
One I'll keep on my shelf and loan to my friends
Although it's no surprise to me that businesses in the US have abused the health of its employees and customers, my eyes were opened to a raft of information I had not heard before. In particular, I was amazed to learn that the Nazis knew almost as much about the link between environmental toxins and cancer as we do today and how unfortunate it was that their good work was eclipsed by the huge evil of antisemitism and aggression.

One result of reading this book was that I immediately began to look at the skin care products on my shelf with alarm and went on a campaign to replace them with products not containing the carcinogens Devra Davis listed. I was shocked to learn that the US FDA does not offer its constituents protection from products containing 1,4 dioxane, which is a known carcinogenic byproduct of many commonly used additives, while all countries in Europe regulate this threat. Others must have read her book as well, because an organization for consumers of organic products started to test products marketed as "organic" or "natural" for 1,4 dioxane (never mind the ones that aren't labeled organic -- they are chock full of the stuff) and they found that nearly half did have it. In that regard, Ms. Davis has rendered a valuable service to everyone who wants to avoid cancer.

Despite the technical nature of the subject, Ms. Davis has written it so well that I had no trouble following it. Interesting and a good read!

March 15, 2008
Stimulating Reading
My sister-in-law was undergoing treatment for lung cancer when I saw this book this past fall. My husband was looking for medical books to study and I happened to find this at the OSU bookstore. I picked it up simply because I knew someone was going through cancer at the time and I thought, this really sounds interesting and controversial.

It is. It is very interesting reading. It is compelling. It can be alarming, but you have to remember, there is always two sides to the story, even on cancer research. But based on my personal experiences, I chose to believe that we're not doing enough to prevent cancer from happening. Sure, cancer will happen no matter what is done to take care of it, but if we're able to contain lethal diseases like bubonic plague, smallpox, measles and etc., with simple life-saving methods, why not eradicate cancer causes? There is so much money spent on treatments to cure cancer but I feel there aren't enough in the studies to prevent cancer from occuring. Yes, that would be a major overhaul of a system that relies on industries to keep the world turning.

One can take the lessons learned from this book and apply it to one's life or one can just totally disregard everything that this author has written. Personally, I tend to agree with this author. There are a lot out there that have not been assembled into any shape or form of scientific studies that are available for the public, or if they are, they're not easily accessible.

Davis has found hundreds of papers and condensed it in a brief study of how cancer may be prevented from occuring in the first place if certain components were removed or reduced. It's about preventive medicine (which is not a popular topic in the community where I live). But until corporations and communties work together to eradicate these components, there is not much that can be done. But the word ought be out there and people should be more aware of what is going on in their environment. Maybe it's too late for my parents' and my generations, but something can be done to prevent horrible deaths for our children and grandchildren. Cancer is not a fun way to go. It's hard on the survivors, both mentally and physically. It's hard on the cancer patient unable to have the quality of life they wish to have before they die. It's a brutual disease.

This is an excellent book, though like one reviewer said, it tends to jump back and forth among the chapters, leaving some confusion for the reader. It does need better editing and the chapters better contained. But it is a well-researched book for the lay person. The reader can take it or leave it but it's there in black and white, the history of the war on cancer. Whether or not it's a complete history of the war, who knows? But it's there and it's a start for the person who is interested in learning more on how to prevent cancer from occuring in one's lifetime or family. It is not an answer-all book, it never promised that. But it is interesting reading and it's very compelling. The author makes a good argument.

This is one keeper in my personal library. Hopefully, as people start cleaning up their environment and pursue greener options in lieu of global warming issues, we may see the decrease in cancer causes. One can always hope.

3/15/08

February 24, 2008
Save Your Money! Read Cancer Wars instead!
Instead of Davis's book, I recommend "Cancer Wars- How Politics Shapes
What We Know and Don't Know About Cancer" by Stanford Professor, Robert Proctor. Proctor analyzes the
different types of respose to cancer. Davis's book is a classic illustration of left-wing, environmental causation beliefs. Proctor also analyzed industry response to cancer which he named as " trade association science", otherwise known as junk science. Proctor notes that doubt is the desired end product for junk science. With significant public doubt, policy and regulation can not go forward.

It seems to me that Davis's desired product is belief- belief in environmental causation of many cancers.
It is not likely that you will find a discussion of natural carcinogens in Davis's work. Proctor discusses
natural carcinogens in "Cancer Wars". Natural carcinogens occur in natural environment and are not caused by industry. Radon, a naturally occuring gas is a natural carcinogen. Lung cancer is a "life-style" cancer caused mainly by cigarette smoking. Viruses such as Human Papilloma Virus cause cancer. Molds (afloxins) cause cancer. Hepatitus C is associated with liver cancer. Helicobacter pylori bacteria are associated with stomach cancer. Breast cancer was known as "The Nun's Disease" by Bernadino Ramazzini (1633-1714)
long before the current rise of breast cancer, most of which is attributed to "life-style". Too much sunlight causes cancer.
The New York Review of Books (March 6, 2008) has a long review of Davis's book by Richard Horton, M. D. He
is an editor at Lancet , the British medical journal and a professor at University College -London. He
discusses many of Davis's allegations and beliefs. He concludes with the following statements:

"But taken together, Davis's argument's are little more than a collection of vague exhortations to do some
thing based upon a distorted reading of the cancer literature. Her loose speculations weaken her
entirely reasonable claim that the war on cancer has been little more than an erratic skirmish. .....
.. she builds her arguments into towering yet brittle threats, out of all proportion to the real and more
robust dangers that face us every day."

Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, a breast oncologist at NIH wrote a long, thoughtful review of The Secret History
of the War on Cancer for The New Republic. Dr. Emanuel states "...it is unclear exactly what Davis is
up to, other than trying to stoke unfocused fear about the oncological consequences of the environment."

Emanuel states that Davis talks about cancer prevention she does not embrace the successful cancer prevention campaigns that already exist such as the Pap smear's role in preventing cervical cancer and now the vaccine against Human Papilloma virus for cervical cancer. Davis does not acknowledge the fact that
stomach cancer was a leading cause of cancer deaths early in 20th Century in the US and now has very low
rates. This massive lowering of stomach cancer rates occured with no program by government
or science but mostly by a change in hygiene habits of citizens. Stomach cancer is widespread
in rest of world.
Dr. Emanuel summarizes his review with these words " The Secret History of the War on Cancer" is
a hysterical and exasperating book." Please be advised.

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