Why has so little progress been made in diagnosing and treating cancer over the past few decades and how can physicians, researchers, and patients advocate for more effective research and humane treatments? With The First Cell: And the Human Cost of Pursuing Cancer to the Last, Dr. Raza develops a new paradigm for the treatment of cancer, both as a biological fact and a human condition. On one level, this book, told through nine moving patient stories, is an argument for heightened empathy; as Dr. Raza put it, she scarcely understood the suffering of her cancer patients until she climbed into bed with one: her patient and husband, Harvey. On another, it is a call for sanity and frank speech against false hope.  As intellectually compelling as it is compassionate and poetic, The First Cell shows how — after more than half a century of false starts — we can take control of this sprawling epidemic, not simply to alleviate suffering, but — -as far as cancer is concerned — to end it before it starts.