The science, culture and history of breast cancer as told by a health-care journalist who survived it. As a health-care journalist for TIME magazine, Kate Pickert knew the emotional highs and lows of medical trauma and 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. After using her journalistic skills to navigate her own treatment, the author embarked on a quest to understand the cultural, scientific and historical forces shaping the experiences 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, the author goes inside the places and turning points that explain the progress made against breast cancer and where science has fallen short. Drawing on interviews with doctors, economists, researchers, advocates, and patients, as well as on with journal entries and recordings collected over 14 months of the author's own 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.
