Azra Raza, oncologist and author of 'The First Cell', discusses the pressing need for early cancer detection and innovative screening methods. With her personal experience of losing a loved one to cancer, she emphasizes the emotional complexities involved. The conversation highlights the limitations of current treatment methodologies and advocates for safer, more effective approaches. Raza also explores the role of tissue repositories in advancing leukemia research and stresses the importance of understanding cancer at its earliest stages.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Personal Tragedy
Azra Raza's husband, Harvey Preisler, an oncologist, died from leukemia, the disease he dedicated his life to curing.
This personal experience deeply influences Raza's work and her book, "The First Cell."
insights INSIGHT
Cancer's Silent Growth
Cancer is a silent killer, often growing to advanced stages before showing symptoms.
A study on smokers suggests some may quit successfully only because their bodies subconsciously detect cancer.
insights INSIGHT
Cancer's Immortality
Cancer cells overcome the Hayflick limit, a natural limit on cell divisions, becoming immortal.
This immortality, driven by DNA copying errors and other factors, defines cancer.
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and the human costs of pursuing cancer to the last
Azra Raza
In 'The First Cell,' Azra Raza provides a comprehensive and deeply personal examination of cancer. The book explores the medical, scientific, cultural, and personal aspects of cancer, challenging the current paradigms in cancer treatment. Raza argues for a focus on early detection rather than late-stage treatments, drawing from her decades of clinical practice and her own experiences, including her husband's battle with leukemia. The book intertwines scientific expertise with personal narratives, emphasizing the need for compassion and a patient-centric approach in healthcare. It also delves into the economic and ethical aspects of cancer care, highlighting the disparities in access to treatments and advocating for a radical transformation in how we understand and confront cancer.
In the United States, more than one in five deaths is caused by cancer. The medical community has put enormous resources into fighting this disease, yet its causes and best treatments continue to be a puzzle. Azra Raza has been on both sides of the patient’s bed, as she puts it — both as an oncologist and expert in the treatment of Myelodisplastic Syndrome (MDS), and as a wife who lost her husband to cancer. In her new book, The First Cell, she argues that we have placed too much emphasis on treating cancer once it has already developed, and not nearly enough on catching it as soon as possible. We talk about what cancer is and why it’s such a difficult disease to understand, as well as discussing how patients and their loved ones should face up to the challenges of dealing with cancer.
Azra Raza received her M.D. from Dow Medical College in Karachi, Pakistan. She is currently Chan Soon-Shiong Professor of Medicine and Director of the MDS Center at Columbia University in New York. Previously she was the Chief of Hematology-Oncology and the Gladys Smith Martin Professor of Oncology at the University of Massachusetts. Her Tissue Repository contains over 60,000 samples of samples from MDS and acute leukemia patients. She is the co-editor of the celebrated blog site 3 Quarks Daily.