Linda poses beside a superb example of a Yorkshire Dales "dry stone wall"
I am re-reading Siddhartha Mukherjee’s book The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of
Cancer. I sleep very poorly these
days, and so often find myself reading serious stuff at 2:00 am, waiting for some
pill to take effect. Last night I ran on
something I really want to share with you.
First, the book: I
rated it very highly the first time through.
You could check my evaluation here:
http://ljb-quiltcutie.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-cancer-researcher-wannabes-bookshelf.html
On a second reading, I like it even more. This may be because I know a bit more about
cancer now, and also because I remember where the gruesome parts are located,
and how to duck. But, anyway: this is a
great book and I hope all of you get a chance to read it. Now as to what got me all excited in the middle
of last night:
Three important figures, co-conspirators in the campaign
that led up to the Nixon era War on Cancer:
Mary Woodward Lasker: Rich socialite, friend of everyone of
significance in politics, accomplished add executive, lobbyist at a time when
lobbying was rare. Ms Lasker was quietly
irresistible and absolutely dedicated to the task of eliminating cancer from
the list of human woes.
Sydney Farber: Oncologist and early researcher into the
potentials of what we now call chemotherapy.
Farber was a maverick amongst oncologists, but a perfect partner to Mary
Lasker.
Lister Hill: Representative, then Senator from
Alabama. Son of a medical doctor, he was
active in legislative matters concerning medicine.
So, after 250 words of introduction, all I want to do in
this blog is to pass on some words by Lister on how something like our “Moonshot”
ought to be conducted. It is from Mukherjee,
p. 107. I couldn’t agree more.
….. I am aware of some alarm in the scientific community
that singling out cancer for…….a direct presidential initiative will somehow
lead to the eventual dismantling of the National Institutes of Health. I do not share these feelings. ……. We are at
war with an insidious, relentless foe.
We rightly demand clear, decisive action – not endless committee
meetings, interminable reviews and tired justifications of the status quo. Lister Hill, as reprinted by Mukherjee.
Amen, brother!
A properly assembled dry stone wall is a thing of beauty – almost a work of art. However, being the builder of dry stone walls apparently is not a sought-after profession, as suggested by this poem I read somewhere:
ReplyDeleteI am a dry stone waller.
All day I dry stone wall.
Of all appalling callings.
Dry stone walling’s worst of all.
It must be especially challenging to be a dry stone waller in an earthquake zone...
ReplyDeleteWish me luck on Tuesday, Myrl.
You got it!
DeleteAs for dry stone walling in earthquake zones -- this is why you see them in Yorkshire, but never in SLO County.
DeleteMarvelous quotation used as a chapter heading in Mukherjee’s book: “Cancer therapy is like beating a dog with a stick to get rid of its fleas”
ReplyDelete