When blood breaks down : life lessons from leukemia
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references (pages 279-300) and index.

"When Blood Breaks Down explores the lives and emotions of three leukemia patients, their caregivers, the doctor-patient relationship, and the history of the incredible discoveries that led to their treatment. Three people receive a diagnosis of leukemia within hours of each other. As is true of any person diagnosed with cancer, they must make decisions about how their cancer will be treated - decisions that may place their own lives in danger and that will affect the people who love them. A pregnant woman must decide whether or not to risk the health of her fetus in accepting chemotherapy, while a man must choose between satisfying his own needs, or those of his family. Another woman leaves one final gift for her children. Through their journeys, we learn about the history of leukemia, what causes it, including leukemia in atomic bomb survivors, and the drugs used to treat it. We hear the incredible story of what is considered one of the most effective cancer therapies ever discovered, and the scientists who persisted in its development despite the system working against them..."--,Provided by publisher.