Radical: The Science, Culture, and History of Breast Cancer in America

by Kate Pickert Narrated by Kate Pickert

Overview

In this "powerful and unflinching page-turner" (New York Times), a healthcare journalist examines the science, history, and culture of breast cancer.

As a health-care journalist, Kate Pickert knew the emotional highs and lows of medical treatment well -- but always from a distance, through the stories of her subjects. That is, until she was unexpectedly diagnosed with an aggressive type of breast cancer at the age of 35. As she underwent more than a year of treatment, Pickert realized that the popular understanding of breast care in America bears little resemblance to the experiences of today's patients and the rapidly changing science designed to save their lives. After using her journalistic skills to navigate her own care, Pickert embarked on a quest to understand the cultural, scientific and historical forces shaping the lives of breast-cancer patients in the modern age.

Breast cancer is one of history's most prolific killers. Despite billions spent on research and treatments, it remains one of the deadliest diseases facing women today. From the forests of the Pacific Northwest to an operating suite in Los Angeles to the epicenter of pink-ribbon advocacy in Dallas, Pickert reports on the turning points and people responsible for the progress that has been made against breast cancer and documents the challenges of defeating a disease that strikes one in eight American women and has helped shape the country's medical culture.

Drawing on interviews with doctors, economists, researchers, advocates and patients, as well as on journal entries and recordings collected over the author's treatment, Radical puts the story of breast cancer into context, and shows how modern treatments represent a long overdue shift in the way doctors approach cancer -- and disease -- itself.

Editorial Reviews

New York Times bestselling author Beth Macy

Pickert writes bravely, with equal parts heart and heft, and pitch-perfect detail.”

mindbodygreen Liz Moody

A must-read if you or anyone you know has breast cancer, but also for anyone interested in the less-discussed factors that influence our perception and care for cancer today.

Medium Sarah Weinman

Bridges the gap between fright and calm, between terror and treatment, between horror and hope...A vital addition to the new canon of cancer books

People Kim Hubbard

An exhaustive, unflinching, deeply personal report.

Washington Post

An invaluable book.”

Nature Barbara Kiser

Balanced, cogent and eye-opening.

Parade Megan O'Neill Melle

A thoroughly researched and compassionate account of a disease that strikes one in eight American women

People magazine

An exhaustive, unflinching, deeply personal report.”

author of Dopesick Beth Macy

On the surgeons, cancer researchers, and activists working on the front lines of this complicated and often politically fraught disease, Pickert writes bravely, with equal parts heart and heft, and pitch-perfect detail.

New York Times

Want to learn more about breast cancer? Read this book...Pickert has produced an evenhanded, powerful and unflinching page-turner.

Susan M. Love

Kate Pickert does a great job of using her own story to bring the people and history of breast cancer treatment and advocacy to a modern audience.

From the Publisher

"On the surgeons, cancer researchers, and activists working on the front lines of this complicated and often politically fraught disease, Pickert writes bravely, with equal parts heart and heft, and pitch-perfect detail."—Beth Macy, author of Dopesick

"Bridges the gap between fright and calm, between terror and treatment, between horror and hope...A vital addition to the new canon of cancer books"—Sarah Weinman, Medium

"Kate Pickert does a great job of using her own story to bring the people and history of breast cancer treatment and advocacy to a modern audience."—Susan M. Love, MD, author of Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book

"An exhaustive, unflinching, deeply personal report."—Kim Hubbard, People

"A compassionate, lucid, and well-researched account of historic and ongoing attempts to combat breast cancer."—Publishers Weekly

"A thoroughly researched and compassionate account of a disease that strikes one in eight American women"—Megan O'Neill Melle, Parade

"A must-read if you or anyone you know has breast cancer, but also for anyone interested in the less-discussed factors that influence our perception and care for cancer today."—Liz Moody, mindbodygreen

"Want to learn more about breast cancer? Read this book...Pickert has produced an evenhanded, powerful and unflinching page-turner."—New York Times

"Balanced, cogent and eye-opening."—Barbara Kiser, Nature

"Riveting... A remarkable, up-to-the-minute resource."
—Washington Post

Kirkus Reviews

2019-08-18
In-depth coverage of breast cancer from a health care journalist and survivor.

"In addition to being the most public of all the cancers," writes Pickert (Journalism/Loyola Marymount Univ.), "carcinoma of the breast may be the most thoroughly studied malignancy in human history." In her first book, the author explores the history of the disease and its many variations, the progression of treatment regimes, and the cultural awareness that has developed thanks to individuals and big corporations participating in pink-ribbon campaigns. As a health care journalist, Pickert was interested in the subject, but it became even more important when she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of the cancer at the relatively young age of 35. She interweaves the story of her own treatment schedule with the historical, cultural, and scientific data she collected on this well-documented carcinoma. The narrative is informative and personable and thankfully never maudlin or melodramatic. One of the more controversial topics Pickert explores is mammograms: how early women should begin having them, how often, and whether there is a better way to identify cancer cells at an early stage so women can get the best treatment possible. Readers learn about the extremely radical surgeries performed in the late 1880s, which often left women deformed, as well as the latest studies, which provide treatment based on an individual's genetic and family history. Pickert addresses the development of effective drugs, including both synthetics and those derived from plant and tree bark. "As I type this sentence," she writes, "1,823 federally registered breast cancer clinical trials are actively recruiting patients." She also includes information on men with breast cancer, an underdiscussed topic. Though not comprehensive, the book provides readers with a wide range of information to help those with breast cancer and their support groups make the most effective decisions for their own treatment.

A useful text on a well-known cancer bolstered by the author's personal perspective as a survivor.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170264100
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	10/01/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged

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