The Cure of Childhood Leukemia

Half a decade ago, childhood leukaemia was always fatal, but now over 75 per cent of cases are cured. Dr Laszlo tells of this victory over cancer through the voices of nine doctors and researchers, and in a counterpoint of voices from patients and parents.

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Half a decade ago, childhood leukaemia was always fatal. Though the number of new cases remains largely unchanged, what has changed is the outcome. Today, over 75 per cent of children with leukaemia can be cured. No-one can put a specific date on the cure of leukaemia or say which child was the first to live rather than die. Dr John Laszlo tells the story of this victory over cancer through the voices of nine doctors and researchers. In a counterpoint of voices from patients and parents, he recreates the tense world of hospital wards of desperately ill children, the bitter days when new therapies ended in relapses, and then the cautious hope as remissions became longer and longer.