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Twenty years ago, a young oncologist started journaling to process his experience treating cancer patients. That cathartic act became the Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer.
Fifteen years after the book was published, how has our understanding of preventing and treating cancer changed? Host Flora Lichtman is joined by author Siddhartha Mukherjee to talk about what we now understand about screening, environmental risks, and rising cancer rates in young people.
Further Reading
- Read some of Siddhartha Mukherjee’s recent writing on early cancer screening and environmental carcinogens via The New Yorker.
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Segment Guests
Siddhartha Mukherjee
Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee is a cancer physician and an associate professor of medicine at Columbia University. He is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer.
Segment Transcript
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Meet the Producers and Host
About Kathleen Davis
Kathleen Davis is a producer and fill-in host at Science Friday, which means she spends her weeks researching, writing, editing, and sometimes talking into a microphone. She’s always eager to talk about freshwater lakes and Coney Island diners.
About Flora Lichtman
Flora Lichtman is a host of Science Friday. In a previous life, she lived on a research ship where apertivi were served on the top deck, hoisted there via pulley by the ship’s chef.