Her-2: The Making of Herceptin, a Revolutionary Treatment for Breast Cancer

A compelling read about the discovery of the drug Herceptin. My education crossed paths with both Dr. Dennis Salmon and Dr. John Glaspy during my internship at UCLA in 1992. Both of them were my attending physicians during my internship. In fact, my first rotation out of medical school (from UCSF) was on the solid oncology unit at UCLA and a few short months later it was on the bone marrow transplant unit. I encountered many deathly sick patients and sadly many died. I wish I knew what Dr. Slamon and Dr. Glaspy were doing at the very time of my internship to help save the lives of their patients. They are to be commended for advancing the treatments for breast cancer. All these years later I wish that my internship had started with one of the oncology attendings telling me this: "Your internship is going to suck. You will take care of devastatingly sick patients many of whom will die. You will be fatigued and get little sleep. You will become attached to them and feel the pain that they and their families go through. And often, it will be hopeless, but we want you to know that as you are on the wards taking care of them we are working on the advances that one day will help to save their lives. If I had only known about those first patients ever to receive HERCEPTIN it might have changed not only my year of internship but all the years since. I recognize that it is in the 26 years since doing my internship that many new treatments have in fact come along to save or at least add years to people's lives. It was 9 years after my internship that the drug GLEEVEC was approved--I wish it had been available to save the life of one of my patients, JK. I watched as the attendings and fellows and residents and myself were completely helpless in saving him. Robert Bazell is to be commended for not only reporting the science, but the politics and bureaucracy of bringing a life saving drug to market.

The miraculous development of Herceptin for the treatment of HER2+ breast cancer is detailed in this book. It traces its development, trials and delivery as a game changing medication. Worth a read.

Thank you for developing this treatment and giving us the quick fix allowing us an opportunity to look deeper into why cancer took root in our body. Such an enlightening read on how little we count to some and how passionate you have to be to help people heal.

History of how the medication Hercepton came into being.

I was fascinated by this book. I don't think a person has to have cancer and be HER2+ to find this book very interesting. Learning the process and inner workings of Genentech was fascinating to me. And, as person who does have cancer and is HER2+, I am ever-so-greatful the scientists won out over the politics and money. Additionally, the book is really well written, and I, an academic type, couldn't put it down.

I had NO clue I paid for a used book in FAIR condition. The book cover is dirty and when I took it off, the book looks like something spilled on it. I’m so GROSSED out that I don’t even want to read it!!No where does it state in the description if it’s used or new.

This is a must read for anyone with HER-2+ breast cancer. It is a fascinating look into how Herceptin came to be. My many thanks to Dr. Slamon for his work in developing the drug that saved my life.

This book is excellent for an understanding of the corporate and federal politics that occur when a "wonder" drug has been created and the makers are trying to make it available for clinical trials for those women who desperately need the drug.A member of my family is now benefiting from this drug, and I am indebted to the doctors and scientists who refused to give up in getting approval for it even though it took several years even after the excellent results of the clinical trials. The book reveals how much drug companies and the FDA manipulate the release or lack thereof of important medications that can truly save lives. Robert Bazell has written an important book that certainly deserves an update.