I would like to share a self-help book called A New War on Cancer: The Unlikely Heroes Revolutionizing Prevention written by Kristina Marusic (Author), Philip J. Landrigan (Foreword) that we received a physical copy of in exchange for this review.
Cancer seems to touch every single person at least once a day if not more. Before you ask if its touched me yes, in myself as well as family members including friends granddaughter who is 3 and fighting her second battle with Cancer. Then if I were to share my grandmothers story on my mom’s side of the family with you. I would let you know she had 12 sister’s and brothers. Every single one of them either died from Cancer, Heart or Lung Disease or a combination of the three.
This includes my grandmother who had Throat Cancer and my mom who had lung cancer As well as my sister who is being watched for breast cancer and I believe cancer is how I will end up dying. I just pray there is a cure and if Charlie gets it they are able to stop it so he can live a full healthy life.
But with both grandmothers and David having cancer I can almost say Charlie will also end up with some type of cancer which is hard for a mom to say. Which is why I couldn’t wait to sit down and read A New War on Cancer: The Unlikely Heroes Revolutionizing Prevention to share with Charlie in his Homeschool Home Economics Health Class.
Did you know two thirds of cancers can be linked to preventable causes: from human produced toxics in the environment. I didn’t know this and neither did Charlie or David. Did you realize that baby equipment, medical equipment, food packaging and cosmetics are full of toxic chemicals? As well as the medicines the doctors like to prescribe.
Facts about this are given throughout the text inside A New War on Cancer: The Unlikely Heroes Revolutionizing Prevention and you may think the book would be sad or a downer but it isn’t its uplifting because the Authors takes the time to share personal stories of six ordinary people who have dedicated their lives to exposing the truth and taking action. We all know change happens when people take action from the heart,
A New War on Cancer: The Unlikely Heroes Revolutionizing Prevention talks about the crazy number of chemicals invented since the early 20th Century which has been about 300,000 – and how they’ve fed our global cancer crisis. The book also talks about how rates of chemical exposure are so much higher for Black and Brown Americans, which is another sad example of environmental injustice.
A New War on Cancer: The Unlikely Heroes Revolutionizing Prevention talks about burgeoning rates of childhood cancer like in my friend Willow and the increasing amounts of forever chemicals seeping into our everyday lives through the home and personal products we purchase to use in our homes and the packaging that might not be on folks’ health radar.
A New War on Cancer: The Unlikely Heroes Revolutionizing Prevention also talks about just how ineffective The War on Cancer has been – sharing terrifying statistics about carcinogenic chemicals and how things got *this* bad with personal opinions about the folks working to shift the prevention.
About:
For more than fifty years, we have been waging, but not winning, the war on cancer. We’re better than ever at treating the disease, yet cancer still claims the lives of one in five men and one in six women in the US. The astonishing news is that up to two-thirds of all cancer cases are linked to preventable environmental causes. If we can stop cancer before it begins, why don’t we?
That was the question that motivated Kristina Marusic’s revelatory inquiry into cancer prevention. In searching for answers, she met remarkable doctors, scientists, and advocates who are upending our understanding of cancer and how to fight it. They recognize that we will never reduce cancer rates without ridding our lives of the chemicals that increasingly trigger this deadly disease.
Most never imagined this role for themselves. One scientist grew up without seeing examples of Indian-American women in the field, yet went on to make shocking discoveries about racial disparities in cancer risk. Another leader knew her calling was children’s health, but realized only later in her career that kids can be harmed by invisible pollutants at their daycares. Others uncovered surprising links between cancer and the everyday items that fill our homes and offices.
For these individuals, the fight has become personal. And it certainly is personal for Berry, a young woman whose battle with breast cancer is woven throughout these pages. Might Berry have dodged cancer had she not grown up in Oil City, Pennsylvania, in the shadow of refineries? There is no way to know for sure. But she is certain that, even with the best treatment available, her life was changed irrevocably by her diagnosis. Marusic shows that, collectively, we have the power to prevent many cases like Berry’s. The war on cancer is winnable—if we revolutionize the way we fight.
About the Author: Kristina Marusic
Kristina Marusic is an award-winning journalist who covers environmental health and justice for Environmental Health News. She holds an MFA in nonfiction writing from the University of San Francisco, and her personal essays and reporting on topics ranging from the environment, LGBTQ+ equality, and politics to feminism, food, and travel have been published by outlets including CNN, Slate, Vice, Women’s Health, the Washington Post, MTV News, The Advocate, and Bustle, among others. She lives in Pittsburgh with her partner of ten years, Michael, and the cutest dog in the world, Mochi. You can visit her online at KristinaMarusic.com
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
