Howard Greenwald takes an incisive new look at how class,   race,   sex, psychological state, type of health care and available treatments   affect   one's chance of surviving cancer. Drawing on an original ten-year   survival study   of cancer patients, he synthesizes medical, epidemiological, and   psychosocial   research in a uniquely interdisciplinary and eye-opening approach to the   question of who survives cancer and why.  Scientists, health care professionals, philanthropists, government   agencies, and   ordinary people all agree that significant resources must be allocated   to fight   this dreaded disease. But what is the most effective way to do it?   Greenwald   argues that our priorities have been misplaced and calls for a   fundamental   rethinking of the way the American medical establishment deals with the   disease.   He asserts that the emphasis on prevention and experimental therapy has   only   limited value, whereas the availability of conventional medical care is   very   important in influencing cancer survival. Class and race become   strikingly   significant in predicting who has access to health care and can   therefore obtain   medical treatment in a timely, effective manner. Greenwald counters the   popular   notion that personality and psychological factors strongly affect   survival, and   he underscores the importance of early detection. His research shows   that Health   Maintenance Organizations, while sometimes prone to delays, offer low-  income   patients a better chance of ultimate survival. Greenwald pleads for   immediate   attention to the inadequacies and inequalities in our health care   delivery   system that deter patients from seeking regular medical care.  Instead of focusing on research and the hope for a breakthrough cure,   Greenwald   urges renewed emphasis on ensuring available health care to all   Americans. In   its challenge to the thrust of much biomedical research and its critique   of   contemporary American health care, as well as in its fresh and often   counterintuitive look at cancer survival, Who Survives Cancer? is   invaluable for   policymakers, health care professionals, and anyone who has survived or   been   touched by cancer.

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