Cancer: The Emperor Of All Maladies

"Cancer is built into us: the genes that unmoor normal cell division are not foreign to our bodies but rather mutated, distorted versions of the very genes that allow us to grow, to adapt, to recover, to repair - to live. Malignant growth and normal growth are so genetically intertwined that unbraiding the two is one of the most significant scientific challenges faced by our species. If we seek immortality, then so, too, in a rather perverse sense, does the cancer cell." ~ Siddhartha Mukherjee

Cancer. The very word can cause great fear. Humankind has been in a great war against cancer for thousands of years, long before we even knew what cancer was. Hundreds of millions of lives have been lost to cancer, both human and animal. Cancer does not discriminate. It doesn't care about age, gender, race, religion, socioeconomic background or nationality. It is a worldwide problem.

In the U.S.A. one in two men and one in three women will get cancer. The science behind these diseases is complex. In his Pulitzer Prize winning book, "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer", Siddhartha Mukherjee takes us on a journey through the history of cancer. According to Mukherjee, cancer has always existed, but it wasn't until 440 B.C. when the queen of Persia discovered a lump in her breast that the removal of a tumor first happened.

The publication of this book in 2010 sparked a new documentary film, "Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies" premiering tonight on PBS. The 3-part, 6-hour film is considered the most comprehensive documentary on a disease ever made.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is a proud sponsor of the film. You can read more about it HERE. Or view the trailer below...