Journeys with a Thousand Heroes

John Graham-Pole’s thoughtful, moving and surprisingly open memoir traces the arc of his long career as a pediatric oncologist from its origins in the early loss of his mother to cancer through his early medical training in Britain, his role in the dramatic evolution of cancer treatments in the U.S., especially stem cell treatments, to a more holistic idea of the practice of medicine that includes the use of the arts and end-of-life hospice care. Through stories of his thousand young heroes, Dr. Graham-Pole explores issues core to cancer treatment and the training of doctors, including what treatment risks are worth taking in a fast developing field, what is the nature of informed consent, especially with children—and how does a doctor come to grow as much in compassion as he does in knowledge.