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

From: www.BasilAndSpice.com
Author & Book Views On A Healthy Life!

Book Review: The Secret History of the War On Cancer (Basic Books, 2007)


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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

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 is 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 cervical 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."

Is one cancer more deserving or our compassion or regulation or funding than another? Does a woman
who develops cervical cancer because of multiple sexual partners who have infected her with Human
Papilloma virus deserve less of our concern than someone with an industry-linked cancer?

There are better and more informed sources that Devra Davis and her products.

Devra Davis has combined history, personal anecdote and experience, and deep scientific knowledge and research to provide readers with a sometimes chilling view of where we stand in the "war against cancer." She is not afraid to name names of both individuals and corporations who have too often put profit above people. The frightening thing as one reads this is how current the continuing coverups and dissembling are; this is not the story of past misdeeds alone.

There is a lot of information here that needs to be much more widely disseminated and discussed. As we look to a new administration in 2009, this book will be a good one for voters and policy makers alike to read and use for beginning new ways of approaching some of the environmental health issues Dr. Davis raises. As she points out over and over, we need not only to work for better treatments for cancer cases; we need to work to eliminate those carcinogenic factors we can control. As long as factions pit tobacco against pollution against other chemicals, always pointing the finger away from their own actions, the "war on cancer" will continue to be too weakly fought.

Dr. Davis has provided a great service, but I have given this only 4 stars due to the need to tighten the writing of the book. Her history lessons were superb, but too many chapters jumped from one subject to the next without cohesiveness; sometimes I found myself having to go back a couple of pages to review the thread of a topic that she suddenly brought back into her narrative. A little more editing and this would be a standout five star book.

Nonetheless, read the book, buy a copy or two and pass it on to all those you know who are in or outside the field of medicine, whose family members have already been touched by cancer or, as is more and more likely, will be in the future.

Devra Davis has combined history, personal anecdote and experience, and deep scientific knowledge and research to provide readers with a sometimes chilling view of where we stand in the "war against cancer." She is not afraid to name names of both individuals and corporations who have too often put profit above people. The frightening thing as one reads this is how current the continuing coverups and dissembling are; this is not the story of past misdeeds alone.

There is a lot of information here that needs to be much more widely disseminated and discussed. As we look to a new administration in 2009, this book will be a good one for voters and policy makers alike to read and use for beginning new ways of approaching some of the environmental health issues Dr. Davis raises. As she points out over and over, we need not only to work for better treatments for cancer cases; we need to work to eliminate those carcinogenic factors we can control. As long as factions pit tobacco against pollution against other chemicals, always pointing the finger away from their own actions, the "war on cancer" will continue to be too weakly fought.

Dr. Davis has provided a great service, but I have given this only 4 stars due to the need to tighten the writing of the book. Her history lessons were superb, but too many chapters jumped from one subject to the next without cohesiveness; sometimes I found myself having to go back a couple of pages to review the thread of a topic that she suddenly brought back into her narrative. A little more editing and this would be a standout five star book.

Nonetheless, read the book, buy a copy or two and pass it on to all those you know who are in or outside the field of medicine, whose family members have already been touched by cancer or, as is more and more likely, will be in the future.

What Ms Davis speaks of in this book comes as no surprise to me. As a PharmD who has two parents who are Physicians I have known this info all along. It is so important for everyone to read so we can try to change the way the "War on Cancer" is being fought. Yes, it would affect my job as an Pharmacist but I see the pain and suffering in my patient's and their family's eyes every day. Devra uncovers why these families are still suffering after all these years and it all starts with the mighty $.

As a young person and as a scientist, I was incredibly impressed by Davis' book. It makes two important claims - that environmental sources of cancer dominate genetic causes, and that we as a nation have embraced diagnosis and treatment and ignored prevention in our war on cancer. The book is a thrilling read, written like a mystery novel, that weaves science and history together into a comprehensive tale. Because of this book, I am more aware of what I eat, what I breathe, and where I live. I recommend Davis' book to any person who is interested in how to prevent cancer.

As a young person and as a scientist, I was incredibly impressed by Davis' book. It makes two important claims - that environmental sources of cancer dominate genetic causes, and that we as a nation have embraced diagnosis and treatment and ignored prevention in our war on cancer. The book is a thrilling read, written like a mystery novel, that weaves science and history together into a comprehensive tale. Because of this book, I am more aware of what I eat, what I breathe, and where I live. I recommend Davis' book to any person who is interested in how to prevent cancer.

The purpose of this book was not to document how many people have died of cancer or any other ailment. This book shows that even when epidemiology and animal studies clearly demonstrated the carcinogenic properties of various chemicals that in many cases this data was conveniently forgotten (at best) and actively buried (at worst). Mr. Kaufman says that the war on cancer has always been about finding ways to treat cancer. Perhaps, but anyone who has watched someone suffer from cancer (and who hasn't) would likely agree that preventing cancer would be a much better way to fight cancer than to solely focus on treatment.

Why isn't prevention the focus of the war on cancer? The short version is because industry and government are working together to make sure the money keeps rolling in at the expense of everyone else. Davis cites examples of doctors and others who smoked and were in denial for decades about the fact that cigarette smoking causes cancer. Why? Because they either worked in the industry (and made money) or they simply didn't want to believe it. Just because you don't want to believe something doesn't negate overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

This book shows how industry and government buried information or failed to act to prevent thousands of cancer deaths. What is even more frightening is that this is still occurring. Very few chemicals are tested by EPA before being approved for the market. Phthalates and BPA are in numerous products that we all use every day. Not only are these chemicals possible carcinogens, but as is becoming increasingly observed in both animal studies and also in humans, they disrupt hormone signaling. This is particularly disturbing in developing male fetuses in which they can have feminizing effects that can result in male deformities and eventual reproductive difficulties. The government wants iron-clad proof before banning these chemicals, but I believe that in the face of current data, reasonable doubt should be the criterion used. As Davis' book makes clear, government will not act unless it is financially advantageous to do so. As products containing banned (in the EU) chemicals continue to be sold in the US, we and our children are becoming the guinea pigs in one of the largest chemical experiments ever conducted. The more the government censors scientists, alters reports and refuses to believe ever-increasing scientific data on the dangers of chemicals we slather on our skin every day (among other things) the less safe we will be and we can expect the cancer rate to continue to increase.

The purpose of this book was not to document how many people have died of cancer or any other ailment. This book shows that even when epidemiology and animal studies clearly demonstrated the carcinogenic properties of various chemicals that in many cases this data was conveniently forgotten (at best) and actively buried (at worst). Mr. Kaufman says that the war on cancer has always been about finding ways to treat cancer. Perhaps, but anyone who has watched someone suffer from cancer (and who hasn't) would likely agree that preventing cancer would be a much better way to fight cancer than to solely focus on treatment.

Why isn't prevention the focus of the war on cancer? The short version is because industry and government are working together to make sure the money keeps rolling in at the expense of everyone else. Davis cites examples of doctors and others who smoked and were in denial for decades about the fact that cigarette smoking causes cancer. Why? Because they either worked in the industry (and made money) or they simply didn't want to believe it. Just because you don't want to believe something doesn't negate overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

This book shows how industry and government buried information or failed to act to prevent thousands of cancer deaths. What is even more frightening is that this is still occurring. Very few chemicals are tested by EPA before being approved for the market. Phthalates and BPA are in numerous products that we all use every day. Not only are these chemicals possible carcinogens, but as is becoming increasingly observed in both animal studies and also in humans, they disrupt hormone signaling. This is particularly disturbing in developing male fetuses in which they can have feminizing effects that can result in male deformities and eventual reproductive difficulties. The government wants iron-clad proof before banning these chemicals, but I believe that in the face of current data, reasonable doubt should be the criterion used. As Davis' book makes clear, government will not act unless it is financially advantageous to do so. As products containing banned (in the EU) chemicals continue to be sold in the US, we and our children are becoming the guinea pigs in one of the largest chemical experiments ever conducted. The more the government censors scientists, alters reports and refuses to believe ever-increasing scientific data on the dangers of chemicals we slather on our skin every day (among other things) the less safe we will be and we can expect the cancer rate to continue to increase.

on cspan's booktv

food for thought, scary as hell.

i may read it as well.

im no scientist, but this woman comes across as legit.could her political views color the info slightly? id say no more than any other persons book might be.

i dont know what we can do when our elected employees get the job and then go back on their word. they tell us to vote, what good is that?
one liar s good as any other.
i mention politics only to make the point whatever side yer on,its filled with liars.
how long will it take for this womans name to get dragged through the mud?

I heard an interview today with the author on CBC radio on Sirius Satellite radio. I only heard a portion of the interview, but I was certainly impressed with the information presented. My father died of Non-Hodgkins lymphoma at an early age and no family history of cancer. But he did work in the powdered metal industry. Several of his colleagues also died of cancer at an early age. A coincidence?

If a non-fiction book could be judged by good intentions, the perfect resume of its author, and passion for subject, this book would be rated 5-star. Its main thesis is that environmental exposures, especially workplace exposures, are the primary causes of cancer, and that exposures other than smoking are at least as important as smoking. To make a long story short, this, in my opinion, was not accomplished. What is needed in a book of this sort, besides the anguished tales of slow death from cancer or oncologists, is a clear estimate of what fraction of cancer deaths are caused by smoking, what fraction by chemical exposure, and what fraction by neither. Nothing of the sort was done. There were too few numbers and too much innuendo.

The form is good in that there is a good index and many citations with numbers in the text (the best way). Unfortunately, so many claims or suppositions are made that ten times the number of citations would not have supported them all. Writing is easy to read, with some occasional grammatical slips and misspellings.
Example after example of hazardous exposures were given, some dating back and well-known from the 18th century (scrotal cancer in chimney sweeps), workers in chemical plants using the dye intermediates (precursors) 2-aminonaphthalene and benzidine, radium-dial watch painters, blacksmiths, miners of all kinds, and many others. In no case were the cancers observed quantified so we can see how serious the numbers were by the usual method of toxicologists: deaths per 100,000 of population exposed per year. Many examples of concealing these cancers are given; this is very well done.

One of the ploys of Big Pharma in overpromoting its drugs was used throughout -- relative risk (RR) with no absolute risk (usually). And for the same reason: RR always gives bigger numbers. If you do something beneficial and the absolute risk (AR) drops from 2 in a 1,000,000 to 1 in a 1,000,000, that would be presented as a RR=0.5 or 50%, or a drop in risk of 50%, which sounds bigger. Every chart (seemingly) or table has some error in it, such as the Y-axes had no units, just numbers, but numbers of what? Or a study of electromagnetic effects that fails to include the numbers of those most exposed, even while presenting the numbers of those not exposed, and thus only RR is seen, and AR cannot be calculated.

The utter nonsense that all ionizing radiation is dangerous is in full bloom here. Never mind the facts -- that we are hit with about 1,600,000 cosmic rays per minute as determined using plastic scintillator detectors the size and shape of the human body. Study after study has shown that exposures to Xrays at 5-15 rads per year lowers cancer rates. See: Joel M. Kauffman, "Radiation Hormesis: Demonstrated, Deconstructed, Denied, Dismissed, and Some Implications for Public Policy", J. Scientific Exploration , 17(3), 389-407 (2003). To top it off, Davis worries about Xray exposure in medical imaging of .017 cGy/yr (rad/yr) for a dental set, 0.4 for a mammogram, and 6 for a body CT scan, yet hardly blinks at the typical 6000 cGy given to a cancer victim. Note that ID, CO and NM, with a background radiation level of 0.72 cG/yr have 20% lower cancer rates than AL, LA, MS with 0.22 cG/yr. Many such examples exist.

Contrarily, the Donora, PA, deadly smog of 1948 was cited repeatedly, as it was the parental home of Davis; but never with a hint that the deadly agent was some form of fluoride. See: Bryson C (2004). The Fluoride Deception, New York, NY: Seven Stories Press. Fluoride ion causes a 10% increase in over all cancer rates, including bone, breast and lung. To me it is inconceivable that a big treatise on enviromental carcinogens could leave out fluoride ion. The RR of bone cancer in boys who drink fluoridated town water is 4-7 fold (RR=4-7). See: Bassin EB et al., Age-specific fluoride exposure in drinking water and osteosarcoma (United States), Cancer Causes Control 2006;17:421-428.

And the very title of this book is misleading. The "War on Cancer" has always meant research on treatment, not the causes. The mostly useless standard treatments are not criticised for the painful waste that they are, and no promising alternative was ever even hinted at. See: Fisher B, Jeong J-H, Anderson S, Bryant J, Fisher ER, Wolmark N ( 2002). Twenty-Five-Year Follow-Up of a Randomized Trial Comparing Radical Mastectomy, Total Mastectomy, and Total Mastectomy Followed by Irradiation. New England Journal of Medicine 347(8):567-575; Moss RW (2000). Questioning Chemotherapy, Brooklyn, NY: Equinox Press.

When you have looked over the 127 questionable statements that are vetted below (or e-mail kauffman@bee.net), and you remember that only 2 or 3 serious errors will make a reader suspicious of everything in such a book, you will probably agree that Davis is less credible than she might have been, even in areas where she may be correct.

The lesson of this book: cancer comes from cumulative exposure to multiple toxins.
You owe it to yourselves and future generations to inform yourself by reading this book. It is honest, clear and disturbing.
Many people gain from raising the bar on scientific evidence, principally the poisoners. They are delaying the inevitable disclosure because it serves the bottom line. In the last pages of this book, Davis lists some sources you may not have considered. What caught me eye were types of radiation - it turns out they are all the same as far as consequences - medical, cellphone, atomic.
Even the NY Times had a go at this book. They falsely stated in the review that Davis had scientific errors. I spoke to Davis at a book signing and she told me that the only error the publisher did not catch, was a confusion in a citation of someone's connection to JAMA with affiliation to the New England Journal of Medicine.
Do you suppose there is something subversive about telling the truth.

In The Secret History on the War on Cancer, Dr. Davis opens the average reader's eyes to how the debate on cancer has been manipulated at numerous levels to delay efforts in reducing exposure to potentially harmful substances in our society. In this well written book, Dr. Davis compiles numerous stories to explain how researches have infused doubt into the debate on cancer as to prolong any action by government agencies. While it is apparent that Dr. Davis's book will be open to criticism, especially from her peers who have been compensated by the manufacturers of well known cancerous products (asbestos, tobacco, etc.,), she should be thanked for having the courage to create a manuscript that challenges the conventional wisdom on how we as a society use epidemiological studies to determine risk: a method that simply counts the dead and does little in preventing illness. Matter of fact, our reliance on these studies is quite revealing. In The Secret History, Dr. Davis does an exceptional job at illuminating how biased research is manipulated in the United States by corporations to delay any action in preventing exposure and prolong profits. While not everyone may agree with Davis's book, this book is a must read for those wanting to understand the current debate in the United States regarding environmental health and how we as a society are not taking a preventive approach to cancer, but instead a reactive one that forces us to fight a disease that many times could have been avoided in the first place.

The Secret History of the War on Cancer gets five stars for doing what it set out to do - provide a history of our efforts, or non-efforts, in the war on cancer. One reviewer said the book left a void. This void has already been filled with books such as Avoiding Cancer One Day At A Time: Practical Advice For Preventing Cancer that provide extensive references and tips on what we need to do to lower our risk. Devra Davis filled the enormous void that screamed "why have we not heard about these studies showing the link between the environment and cancer?" The answers will prompt those of us that are health conscious to take a fresh look at the world around us and take charge of our own lives.

When I was a child more than 70 years ago, my father - a chain smoker - warned me of the evils of tobacco as his father had warned him. Unlike my father, I took it to heart. But I expected this book to be more substantive than the obvious truth that foreign substances pollute the atmosphere and harm us. After reading several glowing reviews, I hoped to learn something beyond the mix of verbal salad I found here. If you pick through this Fiddler on the Roof family anecdote, personal memoir, enthusiasm for organic food, and occasional meta-analysis of hoary research studies, you will rediscover that carcinogens like tobacco, arsenic and benzene were suspect long ago [not to mention naturally occurring phenomena like sunshine and dust]. The reader learns once again that reputable researchers have traded in their souls for corporate rewards and that ours is an age of aggregate industrial waste. Imagine.

The book suffers from a want of focus that no editor could have rescued. What we learn once again is that gifted scientists can often be very ungifted writers.

Devra Davis has written a book that should be a "must" for everyone who cares about her/his own health and for everyone involved in the medical industry. She exposes the corporate greed and cover-ups that have led to what has become an epidemic. Nowadays, everyone knows someone who has cancer or has cancer herself/himself. My oncologist at the City of Hope (yes, I have it) is the one who stated that cancer is an epidemic. Davis' book details why this is so. This extremely well documented book exposes industries, individuals, and even our government for utilizing marketing ploys to fool us all into thinking the chemicals we are ingesting, inhaling, and rubbing on our bodies are harmless and benign. Not so! See for yourself! The need to go "organic" and "green" is urgent.

Devra Davis' "The Secret History of the War on Cancer" makes one or two good points - the first is that the effort has focused on detecting, treating, and curing the disease; overlooked and suppressed was any consideration of how the world in which we live and work affects whether we get cancer. Davis adds credibility to this point by documenting the fact that early "generals" in the War on Cancer were leaders from industrial firms that emit or discharge tons of likely carcinogens every day. The result of failing to emphasize prevention, according to Davis, is over 10 million preventable cancer deaths over the past 30 years.

Davis' second point is that cancer rates are on the increase - most excuse this as a result of an aging population, but that does not explain why eg. there is 5X more brain cancer in the U.S. than Japan.

The bad news about Davis' book is that it is difficult to interpret - eg. it does not present clear, summarized evidence about the impact of today's common chemical discharges and emissions. So, her major conclusion that most cancers are environmentally-caused has little/no backing. Hopefully someone else will quickly fill this void.

This book is extremely informative. So much so, that I find myself only able to read about 1 chapter at a time. I then take some time to reflect on what I've read. America NEEDS to read this book.

A must read for interested persons. Should motivate all of us to give money to prevent cancer, not cure it. Big difference.

Heard about this book from a radio interview with the author and it seemed like I'd get lots of answers to questions I had about why there is such a steady increase in the occurance of Cancers. I've wondered if it was just because of the media giving us more information or if perhaps, Cancers were truly become as common as the cold. Devra Davis takes us back ...way back, though history ... she details who, how, and why man-made environmental decisions have added fuel to the fire. This may be just my perception, but I find book very frightening and informative.

After 50 years of seeing cancer causing substances in the workplace and the environment being swept under the rug and causes of cancer being conveniently blamed on tobacco as a smoke screen by mega-corporations (blaming cancer on a person's lifestyle was used to avoid lawsuits). I am ecstatic to see this wonderful expose on how industry has kept the main causes of cancer under wraps and away from the public view and regulations. Working for a large oil company as their environmental chemist I finally resigned in disgust (if you don't record chemical caused illnesses there is no documentation that the chemical in question is hazardous)only to find I was blackballed from industry. I only have one correction to make in this excellent book exposing the cancer cover up of industry. In the first chapter Devra states that industry learned from the tobacco companies how to cover up the hazards of their products. This is wrong--industry had been covering up the hazard of their cancer causing products as soon as they found out they were hazardous--long before cigarette companies began their cover up and later in the 1970's tobacco became a convenient scapegoat for industrial airborne chemicals such as dust-born DDT and gasoline fumes found at the pump. I am amazed she got her books published. I hope she continues her crusade--She has saved thousands of lives by now by revealing to the public the hazards of industrial substances by raising public awareness.

Devra L. Davis comes with yet another exceptional book after her Best selling "When Smoke Ran Like Water". A must read book

Sorry that I can't provide a link (if I did, Amazon would delete this review), so do a search on aspartame (and spell it correctly; one reviewer didn't), cancer and "National Cancer Institute" and you'll find a document titled, "Aspartame and Cancer: Questions and Answers - National Cancer Institute."

I use a fair amount of aspartame, so I was just as concerned as everyone else chiming in on this book. But, quite frankly, I'd go with the latest from the NCI rather than any one author or researcher. I have to admit, however, that I will attempt to reduce my aspartame intake.

As a diabetic, I found Davis' discussion of the adverse health effects of aspartame strikingly unsettling. I recommend that any diabetic listen to Davis' interview on NPR (10/9, The Diane Rehm Show). At the close of her segment, Davis responds to concerns about aspartame's impact on cancer by drawing on the research she provides in her book. Her response is compelling, especially considering the ubiquity of aspartame (virtually all sugar-free products), and by the gravity of that issue alone, her research is worth investigation.

"Secret History" is radical, risky, poetic and beautifully rendered. This is one of the most important books in the history of medicine, medical education and environmental health that I've read in my entire life. It will set the standard for much future work in medicine. Every school of medical education should make this book required reading. What makes the work so incredible is that it reads like a mystery, suitable for summer beach reading as well.

I predict that Davis' bold book will rise to the top ten and become a NYT bestseller. Davis speaks for the downtrodden, the suppressed, the suffering. Ironically many of these people are scientists and physicians themselves! Davis speaks truth to power with an unmatched style.

Salud Dr. Devra Davis!

I, too, just listened to the interview on NPR's Fresh Air with Devra Davis and found her absolutely compelling reasoning reason to order this book. Overwhelming, yes. But highly suspected. I've always shied from many of the things talked about just because exposure to them bother me. However, what is most compelling about listening to Devra Davis is her clarity, her reasoning and one cannot but be impressed that this is not some rant nor could be in anyway construed as alarmist for some cause. That speaks more volumes than anything else. It would be a really good idea to take a look at her ideas.

I just heard this interview on NPR. I was in my garage and couldn't get out of my car unil it was over. We avoid products with hormones and we eat organic. This confirms that we are on the right track. We started reading the ingredients on our lotion to avoid estrogen and other hormones --- I did not think about my hair products. Not that we don't have enough to worry about already - but I am looking forward to this read.

I am ordering this book as I listen to Devra Davis on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Dr. Davis is very articulate, reasoned, and well researched. This is not a shrill environmentalist rant, but a measured critique of the science behind the products we use every day. If you are uncertain about whether to purchase the book, I highly recommend listening to this interview on the NPR website.

I am ordering this book after the listening to the author, Devra Davis being interviewed on "Fresh Air" by Terry Gross, NPR. Excellent interview and very compelling info, just in the interview. Download the podcast (10/04/07) of this program if you need more information. Then you will order this book, too. We all need this information.

I am ordering this book after listening to Devra Davis' interview by Terry Gross on NPR. She provides extremely intelligent, scientifically sound, and reasonable advice about what environmental toxins lead to cancer and why. Recently my older son stated that he had read a summary of research claiming that aspertame was safe for consumption and did not cause cancer. Davis corrects this claim by pointing out that the studies done did not span a long enough period of time to detect cancer. Aspertame often takes up to twenty or forty years to cause brain cancer. This is the kind of essential information we need to know in order to make informed decisions about what we take into our bodies, use in our houses (she also talked about cleaning products), and allow medical practitioners to do with our bodies (for example, it is not wise to allow young girls to have CT scans because of their effect on developing breasts unless health conditions are dire). I highly recommend this book.