Book Review: Therapeutic Revolution: The History of Medical Oncology From Early Days to the Creation of the Subspecialty

C I Falkson

doi:10.3747/co.22.2551

Abstract

Therapeutic Revolution: The History of Medical Oncology From Early Days to the Creation of the Subspecialty is a book about the history of medical oncology, the extraordinary turbulence that permeated the early years of the field, and the events that led to this subspecialty of internal medicine [...]

Highlights

Therapeutic Revolution: The History of Medical Oncology From Early Days to the Creation of the Subspecialty is a book about the history of medical oncology, the extraordinary turbulence that permeated the early years of the field, and the events that led to this subspecialty of internal medicine
A year later, he recommenced his education and persevered until attaining a medical degree from the University of Montreal. During his internship (1961), Band decided to pursue a career in cancer medicine, but the American Cancer Society informed him that there was no special training for oncology and that “a ‘cancer specialist,’ was a non-entity.”
Starting with a brief overview (“From Dinosaurs to the Dawn of Chemotherapy”), the book ambitiously covers ground from the Hippocratic school, through the Renaissance, to ground-breaking studies in hormonal therapies, providing an interesting historical perspective: “In the mid-sixties, at the time the author began his training in oncology, hormonal treatment whether surgical or medical, was the mainstay against advanced breast cancer