The Breakthrough
Immunotherapy and the Race to Cure Cancer
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Narrated by:
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Will Collyer
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Charles Graeber
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By:
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Charles Graeber
About this listen
Follow along as this New York Times best-selling author details the astonishing scientific discovery of the code to unleashing the human immune system to fight in this "captivating and heartbreaking" book (The Wall Street Journal).
For decades, scientists have puzzled over one of medicine's most confounding mysteries: Why doesn't our immune system recognize and fight cancer the way it does other diseases, like the common cold?
As it turns out, the answer to that question can be traced to a series of tricks that cancer has developed to turn off normal immune responses - tricks that scientists have only recently discovered and learned to defeat. The result is what many are calling cancer's "penicillin moment", a revolutionary discovery in our understanding of cancer and how to beat it.
In The Breakthrough, New York Times best-selling author of The Good Nurse Charles Graeber guides listeners through the revolutionary scientific research bringing immunotherapy out of the realm of the miraculous and into the forefront of 21st-century medical science. As advances in the fields of cancer research and the human immune system continue to fuel a therapeutic arms race among biotech and pharmaceutical research centers around the world, the next step - harnessing the wealth of new information to create modern and more effective patient therapies - is unfolding at an unprecedented pace, rapidly redefining our relationship with this all-too-human disease.
Groundbreaking, riveting, and expertly told, The Breakthrough is the story of the game-changing scientific discoveries that unleash our natural ability to recognize and defeat cancer, as told through the experiences of the patients, physicians, and cancer immunotherapy researchers who are on the front lines. This is the incredible true story of the race to find a cure, a dispatch from the life-changing world of modern oncological science, and a brave new chapter in medical history.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2018 Charles Graeber (P)2018 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"Graeber concisely reviews the science of cancer...The risks of tinkering with an intricate immune system are obviously high, even perilous. But the potential reward is a cure. Exciting reading." (Booklist)
"There is no villain more ruthless than cancer, which has robbed us all of loved ones who had to endure untold suffering before they succumbed. But after decades of frustration and toil, scientists finally understand how to vanquish the disease by activating the human body's natural defenses. The intimate stories behind this triumph lie at the heart of Charles Graeber's The Breakthrough, an expertly crafted and exhilarating account of life-saving ingenuity at its most dazzling. You will never encounter another book so incisive about the art of medical sleuthing, or so poetic about our innate drive to hold on to all that's beautiful in this world for as long as we can." (Brendan I. Koerner, Wired contributing editor and author of The Skies Belong to Us)
"[A] deft, detailed study of cancer immunotherapy.... From the once-discredited pioneer William Coley to immunologist and Nobel laureate James P. Allison, they form a brilliant, driven, admirably stubborn group that Graeber brings vividly to life." (Nature)
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Rigor Mortis
- How Sloppy Science Creates Worthless Cures, Crushes Hope, and Wastes Billions
- By: Richard Harris
- Narrated by: Joe Delafield
- Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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American taxpayers spend $30 billion annually funding biomedical research, but over half of these studies can't be replicated due to poor experimental design, improper methods, and sloppy statistics. Bad science doesn't just hold back medical progress, it can sign the equivalent of a death sentence for terminal patients. In Rigor Mortis, Richard Harris explores these urgent issues with vivid anecdotes, personal stories, and interviews with the top biomedical researchers. We need to fix our dysfunctional biomedical system - before it's too late.
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Eye opening introduction to biomedical R&D
- By Amazon Customer on 09-18-18
By: Richard Harris
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Influenza
- The Hundred-Year Hunt to Cure the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic
- By: Dr. Jeremy Brown
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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On the 100th anniversary of the devastating pandemic of 1918, Jeremy Brown, a veteran ER doctor, explores the troubling, terrifying, and complex history of the flu virus, from the origins of the Great Flu that killed millions, to vexing questions such as: are we prepared for the next epidemic, should you get a flu shot, and how close are we to finding a cure?
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Important read
- By Kathryn C. on 12-21-18
By: Dr. Jeremy Brown
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Tomorrowland
- Our Journey From Science Fiction to Science Fact
- By: Steven Kotler
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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New York Times, Wired, Atlantic Monthly, Discover bestselling author Steven Kotler has written extensively about those pivotal moments when science fiction became science fact...and fundamentally reshaped the world. Now he gathers the best of his best, updated and expanded upon, to guide listeners on a mind-bending tour of the far frontier, and how these advances are radically transforming our lives.
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Covers a lot of different topics in many industries
- By ErnieA on 06-27-15
By: Steven Kotler
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Plague of Corruption
- Restoring Faith in the Promise of Science
- By: Dr. Judy Mikovits, Kent Heckenlively, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- Narrated by: Mariel Hemingway
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Dr. Judy Mikovits is a modern-day Rosalind Franklin, a brilliant researcher shaking up the old boys' club of science with her groundbreaking discoveries. And like many women who have trespassed into the world of men, she uncovered decades-old secrets that many would prefer to stay buried.
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If only most of the public knew these facts
- By David Getoff, CCN on 06-18-20
By: Dr. Judy Mikovits, and others
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Happy Accidents
- Serendipity in Major Medical Breakthroughs in the Twentieth Century
- By: Morton A. Meyers
- Narrated by: Richard Waterhouse
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Happy Accidents is a fascinating, entertaining, and highly accessible look at the surprising role serendipity has played in some of the most important medical discoveries in the 20th century. What do penicillin, chemotherapy drugs, X-rays, Valium, the Pap smear, and Viagra have in common? They were each discovered accidentally, stumbled upon in the search for something else. In discussing medical breakthroughs, Dr. Morton Meyers makes a cogent, highly engaging argument for a more creative, rather than purely linear, approach to science. And it may just save our lives!
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Don't waste your money!
- By Amazon Customer on 03-20-16
By: Morton A. Meyers
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The Heart Healers
- The Misfits, Mavericks, and Rebels Who Created the Greatest Medical Breakthrough of Our Lives
- By: James Forrester MD
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 15 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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At one time heart disease was a death sentence. By the middle of the 20th century, it was killing millions, and, as with the Black Death centuries before, physicians stood helpless. Visionaries, though, had begun to make strides earlier. On September 7, 1895, Ludwig Rehn successfully sutured the heart of a living man with a knife wound to the chest for the first time.
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Great review of the landmark achievements in Cardiology.
- By Trauma NP on 12-14-15
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The Family That Couldn't Sleep
- A Medical Mystery
- By: D.T. Max
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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For 200 years, a noble Venetian family has suffered from an inherited disease that strikes their members in middle age, stealing their sleep, eating holes in their brains, and ending their lives in a matter of months. In Papua New Guinea, a primitive tribe is nearly obliterated by a sickness whose chief symptom is uncontrollable laughter. Across Europe, millions of sheep rub their fleeces raw before collapsing. What these strange conditions share is their cause: prions.
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A great scientific mystery
- By David on 11-04-06
By: D.T. Max
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Less Medicine, More Health
- 7 Assumptions That Drive Too Much Medical Care
- By: H. Gilbert Welch
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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The author of the highly acclaimed Overdiagnosed describes seven widespread assumptions that encourage excessive, often ineffective, and sometimes harmful medical care. You might think the biggest problem in medical care is that it costs too much. Or that health insurance is too expensive, too uneven, too complicated - and gives you too many forms to fill out. But the central problem is that too much medical care has too little value.
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The truth will set you free
- By Rene B Milner on 04-01-16
By: H. Gilbert Welch
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The Secret History of the War on Cancer
- By: Devra Davis Ph.D.
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 19 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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The War on Cancer was run by leaders of industries that made cancer-causing products and sometimes also profited from drugs and technologies for finding and treating the disease. Filled with compelling personalities and never-before-revealed information, The Secret History of the War on Cancer shows how we began fighting the wrong war, with the wrong weapons, against the wrong enemies, a legacy that persists to this day.
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Silly Book
- By Adam Smith on 12-24-14
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Flu
- The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It
- By: Gina Kolata
- Narrated by: Gina Kolata
- Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins
- Abridged
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Feeling feverish, tired, or achy? Listening to Gina Kolata's engrossing account of the 1918 Influenza epidemic is sure to give you the chills. A gripping work of science writing, Flu addresses the prospects for a great epidemic recurring, and considers what can be done to prevent it.
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overexcited
- By Marilyn on 07-23-03
By: Gina Kolata
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How Doctors Think
- By: Jerome Groopman M.D.
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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On average, a physician will interrupt a patient describing her symptoms within 12 seconds. In that short time, many doctors decide on the likely diagnosis and best treatment. Often, decisions made this way are correct, but at crucial moments they can also be wrong: with catastrophic consequences. In this myth-shattering book, Jerome Groopman pinpoints the forces and thought processes behind the decisions doctors make.
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Disappointing
- By Audiophile on 05-13-07
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Polio
- An American Story
- By: David M. Oshinsky
- Narrated by: Jonathan Hogan
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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This comprehensive and gripping narrative, which received the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for history, covers all the challenges, characters, and controversies in America's relentless struggle against polio. Funded by philanthropy and grassroots contributions, Salk's killed-virus vaccine (1954) and Sabin's live-virus vaccine (1961) began to eradicate this dreaded disease.
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Wonderful
- By Patricia B Tripoli on 07-22-08
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Beyond Words Wonderful
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- The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System: A Tale in Four Lives
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What listeners say about The Breakthrough
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- George Reid
- 03-03-19
Good intro to immunotherapy
great sequel to The Emperor of All Malidies. Same format great personal stories combined with solid explanations of the underlying science.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Bala
- 03-24-23
Starter Story on Immunotherapy
The Breakthrough: Immunotherapy and the Race to Cure Cancer by Charles Graeber is a well-written and informative book that tells the story of the scientific discoveries that have led to the development of immunotherapy, a new form of cancer treatment that is showing great promise. Graeber does an excellent job of explaining the science in a way that is easy to understand, and he also provides a balanced view of the potential benefits and risks of immunotherapy.
One of the strengths of the book is Graeber's ability to tell a compelling story. He profiles a number of patients who have been treated with immunotherapy, and he describes their experiences in vivid detail. This helps the reader to understand the human cost of cancer, and it also makes the science come alive.
Another strength of the book is Graeber's willingness to confront the difficult questions that immunotherapy raises. For example, he discusses the ethical implications of using the immune system to attack healthy cells, and he also raises concerns about the potential for immunotherapy to exacerbate racial disparities in healthcare.
Overall, The Breakthrough is an excellent book that provides a comprehensive overview of the science and history of immunotherapy. It is a must-read for anyone who is interested in cancer treatment or in the future of medicine.
However, there are a few areas where the book could be improved. First, Graeber could have done a better job of explaining the technical aspects of immunotherapy. Some of the concepts he discusses are quite complex, and it would have been helpful if he had provided more detail.
Second, Graeber could have been more balanced in his coverage of the potential benefits and risks of immunotherapy. He tends to focus on the potential benefits, and he does not discuss the risks as extensively. This could give the reader a false impression of the risks of immunotherapy.
Overall, The Breakthrough is an excellent book that provides a comprehensive overview of the science and history of immunotherapy. It is a must-read for anyone who is interested in cancer treatment or in the future of medicine.
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- Jenny
- 10-24-19
Inspiring + Informational Cancer Treatment Stories
I enjoyed listening to the history and science behind cancer research as well as all of the personal stories of struggle and progress. This gives me hope.
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- rafe
- 10-21-22
An excellent introduction for lay people into the world of immunotherapy for cancer treatment
If you enjoy learning about a range of subjects and have a high school level understanding of human biology, you'll find this book relatively easy to digest during the technical sections and all will find something that resonates with them in the stories of the cancer patients.
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- paul cochrane
- 04-11-24
Inspiring and informative
Will Collyer gives a top notch reading to a story, at once inspiring , and yet cautionary and hopeful.
It was also like an immunotherapy primer with a gripping tale.
After all, what is more gripping than real life.
Also my humblest thanks to those who dedicate themselves to finding solutions to this deadly disease!
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- Kari Niles
- 01-21-19
Surprisingly gripping
Take a scientific problem as vexing as cancer, come at it with an age-old yet controversial approach, and turn it over to a talented writer--one who uses simple metaphors to convey the complex, and who sprinkles in references to Jerry Garcia and Cassablanca just to keep you on your toes. The result? A fascinating medical tale that is still taking shape.
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15 people found this helpful
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- Bin Hu
- 12-01-19
A brief update of cancer therapy for the public
This book provides a few stories of successful and failed efforts in curing and managing cancer with immunotherapy. The narrative in the first chapter seems too emotional, almost like fiction, But later chapters turned out to be better. The book is easy to follow even for a layman and may be of interest to anyone who wants to follow the latest development of treating cancer.
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- Roy Jones
- 04-15-24
Current research on immunotherapy
chapter 1 had too many metaphors, like a dime store crime novel, and the turn to religion seems a slap in the face of the science developed to treat cancer
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- Tim S
- 08-20-19
Excellent
I read this after reading "The Emperor of all Maladies" It's an awesome add on. Well researched, written in an engaging way that keeps the listener locked in, but you will also learn a TON! I love books like this!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Merry Rogers
- 06-21-21
Well done
Well told story. The human side as well as the “breakthroughs.” I dislike any book on science which is dumbed down, personalized to opinion, or lacking data and source. This is not one of those.
Excellent.
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1 person found this helpful