A Short Primer on Why Cancer Still Sucks

Have you ever wondered why cancer remains such a dreadful illness? Why is it so common? How can you reduce your cancer risk? Why is screening not better at finding cancers early? How does cancer make people feel so sick?

How do different types of treatment work, why might they fail, and how do they cause side effects? What role does our immune system play? Do alternative and complementary therapies work?

Why has progress been so painfully slow? What can we do to speed progress? How can we reduce the very high cost of effective new therapies?

Which healthcare system (Canadian or American) is better at caring for cancer patients? What can the two systems learn from each other?

In this book, oncologist Dr. David J. Stewart addresses these common, vexing questions about cancer. He also discusses what future changes we can anticipate.

Each chapter starts with a Short Primer section that tries to answer these questions in a way that can be understood by patients, their families, and the public. This Short Primer section is followed by a Further Details section for anyone wanting to take a somewhat deeper dive into the topic.

The intent of this book is to inform, so that the reader can better understand the enemy we face. But it is also a call to action. There are too many impediments to progress. We can and must fix this!