A leading cancer specialist tells the compelling stories of three adult leukemia patients and their treatments, the disease itself, and the drugs developed to treat it.
When you are told that you have leukemia, your world stops. Your brain can't function. You are asked to make decisions about treatment almost immediately, when you are not in your right mind. And yet you pull yourself together and start asking questions. Beside you is your doctor, whose job it is to solve the awful puzzle of bone marrow gone wrong. The two of you are in it together. In When Blood Breaks Down, Mikkael Sekeres, a leading cancer specialist, takes readers on the journey that patient and doctor travel together.
Sekeres, who writes regularly for the Well section of the New York Times, tells the compelling stories of three people who receive diagnoses of adult leukemia within hours of each other: Joan, a 48-year-old surgical nurse, a caregiver who becomes a patient; David, a 68-year-old former factory worker who bows to his family's wishes and pursues the most aggressive treatment; and Sarah, a 36-year-old pregnant woman who must decide whether to undergo chemotherapy and put her fetus at risk. We join the intimacy of the conversations Sekeres has with his patients, and watch as he teaches trainees. Along the way, Sekeres also explores leukemia in its different forms and the development of drugs to treat it—describing, among many other fascinating details, the invention of the bone marrow transplant (first performed experimentally on beagles) and a treatment that targets the genetics of leukemia. The lessons to be learned from leukemia, Sekeres shows, are not merely medical; they teach us about courage and grace and defying the odds.
About the Author
Mikkael A. Sekeres, MD, is Chief of the Division of Hematology in the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He writes regularly for the Well section of the New York Times.
Industry Reviews
"[A] fascinating debut...This is a powerful look at a disease that forces patients to make 'decisions that no person should ever have to make.'"
Publishers Weekly
"What makes this narrative so compelling is the author's ability to bring readers with him on his rounds as he meets each patient and family member, discusses treatment options, and follows them through weeks of treatment, reviewing lab results and bone marrow biopsies, and, when necessary, discussing next steps such as bone marrow transplants...That three patient narratives should prove so effective a lesson is a tribute to Sekeres as both storyteller and physician."
Kirkus Reviews
"With grace and fluency, Sekeres offers more than a scientific portrait of leukemia; he also includes personal stories about the origins of the disease; the complexities of the doctor-patient relationship; and how leukemia treatment, such as chemotherapy, can impact patients along with their families. Sekeres combines literary substance with significant medical information and data. The engaging stories in this book, both personal and scientific, make it a good choice for readers interested in solid literature on medicine, especially cancer research."
Library Journal
"A look at leukemia patients' fear, survival and grace while fighting the disease...a quiet chronicle of life with and beyond leukemia, and sometimes life's end."
The Washington Post
