《乳腺癌战争:20世纪美国的恐惧、希望和对治疗方法的追求》(The乳腺癌Wars: Fear, Hope And Pursuit Of A Cure In 20th Century America)

纽约，纽约——2001年5月16日——美国人对乳腺癌的象征已经非常熟悉:粉红丝带、幸存者奖状和治愈竞赛。但我们为什么选择与这种疾病进行如此激烈的斗争?Barron H. Lerner，医学博士，哥伦比亚大学内科和外科医学院Angelica Berrie Gold基金会副教授，花了五年时间寻找答案。勒纳博士研究了医生、研究人员和乳腺癌患者撰写的数千份文件，不仅发现了乳腺癌的历史，还发现了美国文化是如何理解和治疗疾病的。他的书名为《乳腺癌战争:20世纪美国的希望、恐惧和对治疗方法的追求》(牛津大学出版社，2001年5月)。“乳腺癌包含了所有让我们想要与疾病开战的因素，”勒纳医生说。“它非常普遍，女性对它的恐惧超过了其他任何疾病，而且它会影响乳房，从而引发性行为和亲密行为的问题。”勒纳医生认为，向乳腺癌宣战有利有弊。他说:“一方面，与艾滋病斗争的语言让患艾滋病的女性更有权利。”“另一方面，战争隐喻也可能不切实际地提高人们的期望，导致我们责怪那些‘输了’战斗的女性。” Dr. Lerner adds that he wrote “The Breast Cancer Wars” as a physician, historian, and son. His mother developed breast cancer in the 1970s. Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons has played a major role in the history of breast cancer. Among the Columbia faculty discussed by Dr. Lerner are Arthur Purdy Stout, a pioneer in surgical pathology; Cushman Haagensen, the renowned and controversial surgeon who championed Halsted’s radical mastectomy; and Hugh Auchincloss, who was among the first surgeons to call for less disfiguring breast operations. Written with a physician’s ability to explain medical details and a historian’s ability to tell a compelling story, Dr. Lerner discusses such topics as the rise of radical surgery, feminist opposition to medical paternalism in the 1970s, and current debates over early breast cancer detection, genetic testing, and stem cell transplantation. “In a sense, our earlier faith that medicine could eradicate cancer and other diseases has been replaced by a faith that we can objectively evaluate medical interventions and give our patients definitive answers,” says Dr. Lerner. “I have great faith that individual women can make the appropriate decisions that reflect their personal beliefs and life situations. As I say in the book, women need not make the right decision, just the right decisions for themselves.”

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