The Other Face of Cancer

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For several decades now, a cabal of cancer specialists, cancer societies and research centres has successfully nursed and sustained public fears about cancer. The search for cancer cures is linked with so much business, profit and commerce that responsible journals are known to cure cancer every week even while cancer research in turn discovers newer and newer cancer- causing agents everyday: the list of cancerogens now stretches from smoking to sex and sunshine.

The first to prick this bubble of deceit were two brilliant professors of anatomy, Manu Kothari and Lopa Mehta, from Mumbai. Their iconoclastic discoveries, first published in 1973 in their 900 page work, The Nature of Cancer, are now available in a condensed form in the present book.

The Other Face of Cancer is bound to raise the hackles of those who profit from the continuing ignorance and hysteria over the disease. But with Nobel laureates like J.D. Watson and M. Burnet having openly spoken out against cancer research as being "scientifically bankrupt, therapeutically ineffective, and waste- ful", it is about time, the truth is told.

This book challenges the reader to re-evaluate long-held notions about cancer. The authors hold that cancer is not necessarily a "killer disease" and insist that often the best treatment for a cancerous condition may be to not treat it at all. With a new update written especially for this 2009 edition, The Other Face of Cancer will provide wholesome guidance for all those who despair of the deadly toll that conventional cancer therapies (particularly chemotherapy and radiation) exact, and who wish to take their destinies more firmly in their hands.

The 3% millennium is turning out to be an extravaganza of techno-possibilities - space-travel, cosmic pictures, supercomputers, stem-cells, nano/picobiotechniques, and so on. It is natural that a person on the street would hope for a breakthrough here and there whereby cancer/coronary/stroke/etc. can be a thing of the past. It is the unending hope of people and the promise from medical establishments that keep on oiling and moving the wheels of medical reporting and research.

Keeping the above world-mood in mind, the new edition of The Other Face of Cancer ends with a very detailed survey of the global scene and some critical evaluation thereof. We have chosen to respect the trivum-among-trivia of medicalese and journalese, and given each piece due scientific consideration. It is chastising to realize that the humble cancer cell and the cordial coronary artery continue their biological behaviour regardless of medical optimism and adventurism.

We have gone a shade beyond the merely medical into matters that inexorably dominate day-to-day doctor-patient dealings. The attempt is neither to be for, nor against anything or anybody, but to evolve due regard for many a clear writing on the wall. The practicable comprehension of cancer is every common person's right, for essentially it is beyond the palliative powers of modern medicine, no matter how sophisticated and in which rich country.

We thank all the readers of The Other Face of Cancer, whose input has helped us hone our thinking. Hemant Bhalani is an evergreen picture of enthusiasm, encouragement, and cooperation. The sleekness of this publication is all due to his insight and efforts.

**Contents and Sample Pages**