ONE IN THREE by ADAM WISHART

CANCER DEATHS DECLINING

The number of cancer deaths in the United States has dropped for the second year in a row, the American Cancer Society reported yesterday. The finding suggests that the small drop reported last year — the first in more than 70 years — was real, possibly the start of a continuing decrease and not merely a statistical fluke, researchers said.

The American Cancer Society's annual study of cancer mortality came out yesterday. And for the second year its great news.

The New York Times, though, has a tinge of pessimism in its second paragraph.
"Although the drop is notable, it still pales in comparison with the number of cancer deaths, 553,888 in 2004.....But it has taken enormous efforts and ingenuity to produce relatively small gains." And there is a graph attached to the piece which makes out that cancer mortality has rising from about 400,000 deaths in the US to about 550,000 since 1980.

Well. Although its right to be cautious, these figures should be cause for enormous cheer particularly because cancer mortality is not an isolated statistic. Since the 1980s, the rates of heart disease have declined by about 25 per cent since the mid 1980s. As the leading cause of death in the US is clattering down, people are dying of other things. And although cancer has been slow to catch up with cardiovascular treatments, it is catching up.

And more than anything this kind of statistic rebutts the widely held belief that cancer rates are increasing.

Link: Second Drop in Cancer Deaths Could Point to a Trend, Researchers Say - New York Times.

ONE IN FOUR PEOPLE SAY CANCER IS DOWN TO FATE

Cancer Research UK did this amazing piece of research, and they discovered that one in four people think that cancer has nothing to do with risk factors and is only down to fate.

It is amazing, after half a century of campaigning about smoking, and twenty five years about the sun, and a least a few decades about five fruit and veg a dag, how little the message gets through. In poorer areas, that number reaches almost half of the population believes its fate.

I think one of the reasons is the complete mumbo jumbo that is so often spoken about the disease. Yesterday a faith healer (admittedly quite a comic one) was on BBC2 explaining that cancer is all about emotions, and Sense About Science recently wrote about the rubbish that celebrities speak about science.

And this really affects people's lives.

It really is time to change how we think about cancer.

"Monkeys, Rats and Me" is now online

My documentary about animal rights and experimentation that was broadcast on the BBC in November has been placed online, not sure by whom.

I'm told by my sources close to the animal liberation movement that the film is also being recut and portions of it are being passed around with their own particular slant. In the event that I can't police that, I figure that having the full thing downloadable at least allows people to see it in its full context.

I really hope more people get to see it. Although the images are a little dodgy, I think the content is as vibrant as provoking as ever.

I'm not sure what the copyright status of it is, I imagine many of the rights are part of the blanket BBC deal. But until the BBC gets its act together to put all this kind of stuff up immediately after its broadcast it seems like its fair game for it to be online.

The links are as follows.
On Google Video. Here.
And in the Internet Archive. Here
I guess its not on Youtube because it doesn't break into 10 minute chunks.

Links to the very fine reviews are here.

The Reviews.

“ONE IN THREE shines like a good deed in a world full of unnecessary books…… Wishart has produced a book that is informative, balanced, accessible, and absolutely riveting.” David Lodge's Pick of 2006 in the Guardian, author of Changing Places, Small World.

"For clinicians, this book may be a useful source of information to recommend to patients, or it may serve simply as an interesting read into how contemporary cancer research and treatment came into being." LANCET ONCOLOGY

“Adam Wishart's extraordinary book will be indispensable to anyone dealing with cancer, because it is so clear-eyed, so measured, so informative, and so quietly moving. He elegantly integrates the history of cancer research with the story of his father's illness. In doing so, he makes abstract science accessible and dignifies a human story with the insights of medicine. After reading this book, you have not only more knowledge, but also more insight and compassion.”
Andrew Solomon, author of Noonday Demon, a New York Times bestseller

“Wishart succeeds brilliantly in constructing a narrative that is a tribute both to his father and the scientists who have partly unpacked the mystery of cancer” Simon Singh, Sunday Telegraph

“An imaginative fusion of anecdotal detail, medical science and poignant, elegiac narrative marks every chapter of this unusual book.....Wishart’s book inhabits a remarkable genre of its own.” John Cornwell, The Sunday Times

"Wishart seamlessly weaves together the personal, the historical and the scientific threads of his narrative to tell the story of cancer" The Guardian

“[An] immaculately researched tale of medicine's struggle with cancer..” Lindsay Banham, The Lancet.

“ONE IN THREE offers real hope.” British Medical Journal.

“From one family’s cancer fight comes a book to help us all.’ Brian McIver, Daily Record

“ONE IN THREE is a consuming read. Part history lesson, part sociological study, part scientific journey, Wishart artfully serves up the right mixture of technical terminology, explanation and personal story….. Moments are beautifully described … and it is a privilege to be given such access to the workings of the human heart.” Jacqueline Burton, Sunday Business Post.

“Calm, factual, beautifully written, intelligent and moving. ... this book brings understanding, and most of all it also brings some hope.” Literary Review

“A neat and moving blend of science and the intensely personal.” Mary Braid, Sunday Times in Scotland

“Perhaps the most readable and comprehensive account out there of our battle with the big C." Michael Bond, New Scientist

“An amazing book - it stands out as being an intelligent, balanced review of a complex and emotive subject. It's simply the best in its class today. Essential reading for anyone who has cancer or loves someone with the disease." Karol Sikora, Professor of Oncology, Imperial College London, advisor to WHO Cancer Program

"This emotionally charged account distinguishes itself not simply in the way it gracefully meshes together complex, competing theories about the disease, but in its generous use of a loved one as a case study." Kim Hjelmgaard, Scotland on Sunday