OBOC 2017-18


Each year since 2009, Pitt Public Health invites students, faculty, alumni, and friends to share the experience of reading and discussing our annual selection for the One Book, One Community (OBOC) program. This year's OBOC selection is The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee. 

About the Book

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and now a documentary from Ken Burns on PBS, The Emperor of All Maladies is a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography” of cancer—from its first documented appearances thousands of years ago through the epic battles in the twentieth century to cure, control, and conquer it to a radical new understanding of its essence.

Physician, researcher, and award-winning science writer Siddhartha Mukherjee examines cancer with a cellular biologist’s precision, a historian’s perspective, and a biographer’s passion. The result is an astonishingly lucid and eloquent chronicle of a disease humans have lived with—and perished from—for more than five thousand years.

The story of cancer is a story of human ingenuity, resilience, and perseverance, but also of hubris, paternalism, and misperception. Mukherjee recounts centuries of discoveries, setbacks, victories, and deaths told through the eyes of his predecessors and peers, training their wits against an infinitely resourceful adversary that, just three decades ago, was thought to be easily vanquished in an all-out “war against cancer.” The book reads like a literary thriller with cancer as the protagonist.

Riveting, urgent, and surprising, The Emperor of All Maladies provides a fascinating glimpse into the future of cancer treatments. It is an illuminating book that provides hope and clarity to those seeking to demystify cancer.

(Excerpted and condensed from Amazon.com)

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What Should We Read Next?

OBOC book stack

Have ideas for our 10th year?

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Read-Along Program

Alumni, families, and friends are invited to sign up below and read along with the school’s students and faculty by participating in the second read-along program. Read The Emperor of All Maladies and participate in live and virtual events and discussions. Read more...

WHERE TO GET THE BOOK

Get 10 percent off at the University Store on Fifth (with Pitt ID). Pitt’s Hillman Library, Health Science’s Library, and the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh may also have copies.

Questions?

With questions about OBOC, or to suggest an event, contact Robin Leaf, educational programs and practicum coordinator.

OBOC and Cancer News

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Higher Risk of Liver Cancer in People with NAFLD Linked to High Blood Iron Levels 

Higher Risk of Liver Cancer in People with NAFLD Linked to High Blood Iron Levels

CANCER HEALTH - “NAFLD may contribute to the rising incidence of HCC in the U.S. However, only a small fraction of NAFLD patients eventually develop HCC. The liver is the primary reservoir of body iron. The iron overload can cause hepatotoxicity and liver damage,” said EPI’s Jian-Min Yuan, senior a... (11/29/2021)
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Lichtveld touts equity in climate change science at NAM annual meeting 

Lichtveld touts equity in climate change science at NAM annual meeting

“The absolute bottom line for us in the area of science is that we are responsible for making climate and health science work for those most vulnerable. Across all presentations, every single presenter talked about issues of equity and issues of vulnerability,” Lichtveld said. “A climate focus must... (11/22/2021)
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Effort to Reframe Climate Change as a Health Crisis Gains Steam 

Effort to Reframe Climate Change as a Health Crisis Gains Steam

NEW YORK TIMES - Research has increasingly shown that warming is taking a deadly toll on human health. At the global climate summit in Glasgow, the issue has gained new prominence. For the first time at a major United Nations climate conference, human health is emerging as a leading issue, a refram... (11/16/2021)
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A Move to Rein In Cancer-Causing 'Forever Chemicals'  

A Move to Rein In Cancer-Causing 'Forever Chemicals'

NEW YORK TIMES - Michael Regan, the EPA administrator, wants to limit a class of chemicals that has been linked to cancer and is found in everything from drinking water to furniture. The Biden administration said it would require chemical manufacturers to test and pubilcly report the amount of a fa... (11/14/2021)
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Why heat waves are a growing risk for pregnant women 

Why heat waves are a growing risk for pregnant women

NPR - With extreme heat waves on the rise in a changing climate, doctors are finding that pregnant women are particularly vulnerable. Heat waves increase the chances of going into labor early, having a stillbirth, or having a baby with low birthweight.The risk is even greater for women of color, es... (10/18/2021)
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We need to talk about your gas stove, your health and climate change 

We need to talk about your gas stove, your health and climate change

NPR - Americans love their gas stoves. It's a romance fueled by a decades-old "cooking with gas" campaign from utilities. The details have changed over time, but the message is the same: Using a gas stove makes you a better cook. But the beloved gas stove has become a focal point in a fight over wh... (10/18/2021)
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Then and now: Pandemic clears the air  

Then and now: Pandemic clears the air

BBC NEWS - In a monthly feature, the BBC reveals some of the ways that planet Earth has been changing against the backdrop of the warming world. Air pollution has long been one of the biggest killers, claiming an estimated seven million victims annually. However, the Covid-19 global pandemic showed... (10/18/2021)
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COP26: What is the Glasgow climate conference and why is it important? 

COP26: What is the Glasgow climate conference and why is it important?

BBC NEWS - The UK is hosting a summit that is seen as crucial if climate change is to be brought under control. The meeting in Glasgow this fall could lead to major changes to our everyday lives. The world is warming because of fossil fuel emissions caused by humans. Extreme weather events linked t... (10/18/2021)