To Dance with the Devil

This is the story of a killer and the people fighting to stop it. Breast cancer takes the life of an American woman every twelve minutes.  There is no sure cure for the disease, no known way to prevent it, and no means of predicting whom it will strike next.  A community of dogged adversaries stands in opposition to it: mavericks and bureaucrats, brilliant innovators and everyday heroes.  Often at passionate odds in temper and technique, they are united in their resolve against an...
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This is the story of a killer and the people fighting to stop it. Breast cancer takes the life of an American woman every twelve minutes.  There is no sure cure for the disease, no known way to prevent it, and no means of predicting whom it will strike next.  A community of dogged adversaries stands in opposition to it: mavericks and bureaucrats, brilliant innovators and everyday heroes.  Often at passionate odds in temper and technique, they are united in their resolve against an elusive, implacable enemy.  To Dance with the Devilis an unprecedented behind-the-scenes account from the war on one of medicine's most pernicious foes. The product of over three years of research, scores of interviews with the nation's top doctors, policymakers, researchers, and activists, and in-depth reporting on the patients and clinicians who invited the author into their lives,To Dance with the Devilis at once an up-to-the-minute report and a gripping human drama.  For a year Karen Stabiner was a steady observer at the innovative UCLA Breast Center, following the progress of Dr. Susan Love, the eminent breast surgeon and author, and a number of Love's patients.  From UCLA, Stabiner's narrative spirals out to examine the turbulent national scene: partisan politics and budget crises; pioneering research and dire experimental treatments; managed care and the battle to shape its future; high stakes, high society fund-raising; and the brutally competitive race for answers and dollars.   From the White House and the halls of Congress to the cutting-edge labs of top genetic researchers, from glittering charity events to the realities of managed care and the private triumphs and tragedies of individual patients, here is a must-read inside story of the new campaign against breast cancer -- a new paradigm of hope for women and those who love them.  It is a stunning account, destined to irrevocably change the way we think about this devastating epidemic.