The Book The Emperor of All Maladies - Assignment Example

?Book critiques from health point of view The book The Emperor of All Maladies is written by Shiddartha Mukherjee. This book talks about the ill effects of Cancer on the people that influence individual life and community health. In this book, several eminent doctors, scientists have voiced their opinion regarding the causes and consequences of cancer. It is rightly said by the doctors that cancer originates due to an excessive growth of a single cell. Cancer can be avoided if diagnosed at the first stage with the help of surgery and chemotherapy. Cancer affects not only the life of an individual and increases the mortality rate but it largely affects its family members mentally, socially and economically. Though cancer can be prevented with the use of powerful radiations still the entire process is very expensive and painful. I feel most of the people in poorer countries are unable to bear the cost of the treatment of cancer. If any family member is suffering from this killer disease and the person’s financial condition is weak then the family members have no choice rather to watch him die without any proper treatment. Cancer can be of different types. Each type of cancer has different methods of treatment and the cost of treatment accordingly differs from each other. The entire world has been plagued by this killer disease. Cancer can also affect the genes and transforms from one generation to another. Ancient physicians used to state that the origin of cancer was only limited to hereditary. But modern researches have concluded that cancer can occur due to several factors like pollution, smoking etc. Several campaigns have been conducted by the Governments and other health sectors to warn the people against the ill effects of cigarette smoking that might lead to lung cancer. The author who is himself an oncologist examines a living cell that was retrieved from a woman who died nearly thirty years back. The author emphasizes on the incapability and failure of science and modern researchers, those who have not yet succeeded in finding a solution to beat this killer disease. I completely agree with the author’s insight. This book discloses the discovery of mastectomy that was practiced on a Persian queen in 500 B.C. In the year 1940, Mary Lasker an American socialite and Sidney Farber, founder of chemotherapy got together and started a campaign against cancer. Cancer is a complex disease and its treatments are equally complex and difficult, “the secret of battling cancer, the, is to find means to prevent these mutations from occurring in susceptible cells, or to find means to eliminate the muted cells without compromising normal growth”. (Mukherjee, 2010, p.6) In the early nineteenth century, many science researchers and doctors used to practice their research and discoveries on patients to cure them of cancer. But in this process of their treatment they used to intentionally push their patience in the verge of death to save them. For example William Halstead in the nineteenth century, applied mastectomy on a woman who was suffering from cancer and disfigured her but the women was not cured after the surgery. Many patients were just gunny pigs on whom the physicians could apply the new discoveries of medicines and treatments but were unable to cure them. Rather these new treatments created more problems and inflicted more pain to the patients and they were forced to live a horribly painful life. Within the year 1962 to 1985, the doctors were able to extend the duration of survival of the patients suffering from cancer with the help of surgery and chemotherapy but are still unable to eradicate cancer from its roots. Still in modern days majority people suffering of cancer are dying a painful death leaving behind their family members to suffer mentally and economically. In the poor countries, advanced treatments regarding cancer are still not available and people have to travel to the developed countries especially USA to seek relevant treatment for cancer. For example stem transplantation are still not practiced in many poor countries. I agree to the insight of the author who emphasizes more in extending the life of the patient with relevant treatments rather than focusing his attention on reducing the mortality rate of the cancer patients. According to my view, if the life span of a cancer patient is increased then the mortality rate will automatically reduce. The author believes that very soon with the help of advanced researches related to genetic based therapies the problem of cancer will be successfully solved. Though the honesty of the author shocks the reader that cancer is eternal and it will never be eradicated from its roots but it is also true that in modern days people have been able to conquer ageing with the help of new treatments. In the same way one day physicians will also be able to solve the problem of cancer by extending the life of the cancer patients. The book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is written by Rebecca Skloot. In this book the author narrates a tale about poor black woman who was a farmer by profession and whose cells have been taken by scientists in the year 1951 without her knowledge. Her cells brought a new evolution in the field of medicine. Many new developments took place in the fields of polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization and many more. Henrietta was in complete dark about these discoveries that has taken place because of her cells. Her cells were sold in billions of dollars. The cells were removed during a biopsy and it was cultured without her permission and the cells later were named HeLa cells by the scientists. I do not approve of this system of experimenting with the cells secretly without informing the donor and keeping Henrietta into darkness. HeLa became the godmother of virology after the death of Henrietta. Scientists have grown millions of cells of HeLa and have provided the opportunity of jobs and career for thousands of other scientist throughout the world. Several researches and discoveries have taken place from HeLa. The author reveals that the cells were taken from a living woman who was herself fighting for life. HeLa was the biggest discovery made in the last hundred years in medical history. Henrietta’s children were shocked when they were informed about HeLa. I completely support the author for disclosing the unscrupulous act of John Hopkins Lab where the cell was eliminated from a living woman and diagnosed which led to great discoveries. It was a very brave step taken by the author. A book also reflects a deep racial discrimination that was faced by the family members of Lacks from the white population of the country. When the author tried to convince the children of Lacks about their mother’s cell they completely refused to believe her. The family revealed that they were cheated by the whites and the entire medical organization by hiding about the cell and in return the medical establishment earned huge amount of profit by selling off the cells. I also feel that a great injustice have been done on Henrietta and her family members because they were black. The physicians and the scientist ignored them and have hidden the truth from them about the cell which was very unethical. On one hand a cell taken from the body of a living black woman created immense popularity in the entire world with its fantastic discoveries that opened new avenues in the medical history where as Lacks and her family members were not given any credit or recognition rather they were victims of racism. The book describes the emotional ordeal of the family members of Lacks after they believed that their mother’s cells were sold in a secretive way. Skloot deals with both the seriousness of justice of the family and the benefits of the discoveries made by the cells that have helped large number of people in the world. Henrietta’s daughter stated after knowing the truth about her mother’s cell that, “Truth be told, I can’t get mad at science, because it helps people live, and I’d be a mess without it. I’m a walking drugstore!...But I won’t lie, I would like some health insurance so I don’t got to pay all that money every month for drugs my mother cells probably helped make”. (Skloot, 1972, p.256) Science has overgrown the conception of right and wrong regarding tissue culture. According to law the tissue that has been removed from a living body for any medical examination or biopsy is regarded as a medical waste. It is not important to take consent of the patient from whom the cell has been removed. Cells and tissues can be stored in a diagnostic method and can be used for further research. At the end of the book the children and other family members of Henrietta Lacks followed the world of science and approved of the unethical approach of science and scientist. According to my view people in some aspects of life falls in a situation where they willingly or unwillingly accept the conventional ways of life and living though they are ethically or morally sometimes incorrect. References Mukherjee, S. (2010), The Emperors of All Maladies, New York: Scribner Skloot, R. (1972). The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Crown Publisher Read More