Cancer has touched every one of us in some capacity, and learning of a diagnosis inspires many more questions than it answers. In this four-part series on cancer, we aim to lay a foundation of knowledge that will help make sense of this multifaceted disease. We begin our four-part series on cancer by asking a deceptively simple question: what is cancer? As we’ll discover over the course of these episodes, there is not one answer but many. After all, cancer is not one disease but many. In this first episode, we examine the clinical definitions of cancer – when someone receives a cancer diagnosis, how is that determined, and what does that mean? Viewing that question through a historical lens reveals our changing understanding of cancer and how that knowledge filters into the public perception of this disease. With cancer diagnoses on the rise, it’s tempting to label cancer a disease of the 20th or 21st centuries. But is that the case? Tune in to find out.
| History | Biology |
| Mukherjee, Siddhartha. The emperor of all maladies: a biography of cancer. Simon and Schuster, 2010. | Brown, J.S., Amend, S.R., Austin, R.H., Gatenby, R.A., Hammarlund, E.U. and Pienta, K.J., 2023. Updating the definition of cancer. Molecular Cancer Research, 21(11), pp.1142-1147. |
| Sontag, Susan, and Heywood Hale Broun. Illness as metaphor. Vol. 3. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1978. | Swanton, C., Bernard, E., Abbosh, C., André, F., Auwerx, J., Balmain, A., Bar-Sagi, D., Bernards, R., Bullman, S., DeGregori, J. and Elliott, C., 2024. Embracing cancer complexity: Hallmarks of systemic disease. Cell, 187(7), pp.1589-1616. |
| Stacey, Jackie. Teratologies: A cultural study of cancer. Routledge, 2013. | Sonnenschein, C. and Soto, A.M., 2016. Carcinogenesis explained within the context of a theory of organisms. Progress in biophysics and molecular biology, 122(1), pp.70-76. |
| Ahmad, Amar S., Nick Ormiston-Smith, and Peter D. Sasieni. “Trends in the lifetime risk of developing cancer in Great Britain: comparison of risk for those born from 1930 to 1960.” British journal of cancer 112.5 (2015): 943-947. | Greene, F.L. and Sobin, L.H., 2008. The staging of cancer: a retrospective and prospective appraisal. CA: a cancer journal for clinicians, 58(3), pp.180-190. |
| American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts and Figures 2025. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2025. | Haroun, R., Wood, J.N. and Sikandar, S., 2023. Mechanisms of cancer pain. Frontiers in Pain Research, 3, p.1030899. |
| Bailar, John C., and Heather L. Gornik. “Cancer undefeated.” New England Journal of Medicine 336.22 (1997): 1569-1574. | Pantel, K., Alix-Panabières, C. and Riethdorf, S., 2009. Cancer micrometastases. Nature reviews Clinical oncology, 6(6), pp.339-351. |
| Faguet, Guy B. “A brief history of cancer: age‐old milestones underlying our current knowledge database.” International journal of cancer 136.9 (2015): 2022-2036. | Baracos, V.E., Martin, L., Korc, M., Guttridge, D.C. and Fearon, K.C., 2018. Cancer-associated cachexia. Nature reviews Disease primers, 4(1), pp.1-18. |
| Hajdu, Steven I. “Pathfinders in oncology from ancient times to the end of the Middle Ages.” Cancer 122.11 (2016): 1638-1646. | Finley, L.W., 2023. What is cancer metabolism?. Cell, 186(8), pp.1670-1688. |
| Hajdu, Steven I. “A note from history: landmarks in history of cancer, part 1.” Cancer 117.5 (2011): 1097-1102. | Ferrer, M., Anthony, T.G., Ayres, J.S., Biffi, G., Brown, J.C., Caan, B.J., Feliciano, E.M.C., Coll, A.P., Dunne, R.F., Goncalves, M.D. and Grethlein, J., 2023. Cachexia: A systemic consequence of progressive, unresolved disease. Cell, 186(9), pp.1824-1845. |
| Hajdu, Steven I. “A note from history: landmarks in history of cancer, part 2.” Cancer 117.12 (2011): 2811-2820. | Hoeijmakers, J.H., 2009. DNA damage, aging, and cancer. New England journal of medicine, 361(15), pp.1475-1485. |
| Hajdu, Steven I. “A note from history: landmarks in history of cancer, part 3.” Cancer 118.4 (2012): 1155-1168. | Khorana, A.A., Francis, C.W., Culakova, E., Kuderer, N.M. and Lyman, G.H., 2007. Thromboembolism is a leading cause of death in cancer patients receiving outpatient chemotherapy. Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 5(3), pp.632-634. |
| Hajdu, Steven I. “A note from history: landmarks in history of cancer, part 4.” Cancer 118.20 (2012): 4914-4928. | AJCC and ACS Cancer Staging Systems: https://www.facs.org/quality-programs/cancer-programs/american-joint-committee-on-cancer/cancer-staging-systems/ and AJCC Cancer Staging Manual, Eighth Edition and version 9 Cancer Staging System: https://www.facs.org/quality-programs/cancer-programs/american-joint-committee-on-cancer/cancer-staging-systems/cancer-staging-system-products/ |
| Hajdu, Steven I., and Farbod Darvishian. “A note from history: landmarks in history of cancer, part 5.” Cancer 119.8 (2013): 1450-1466. | National Cancer Institute SEER Training Modules: Cancer Classification. https://training.seer.cancer.gov/disease/categories/classification.html |
| Hajdu, Steven I., and Manjunath Vadmal. “A note from history: Landmarks in history of cancer, Part 6.” Cancer 119.23 (2013): 4058-4082. | |
| Hajdu, Steven I., Manjunath Vadmal, and Ping Tang. “A note from history: Landmarks in history of cancer, part 7.” Cancer 121.15 (2015): 2480-2513. | |
| Smedley, Brian D., and M. Alfred Haynes, eds. “The unequal burden of cancer: an assessment of NIH research and programs for ethnic minorities and the medically underserved.” (1999). | |
| Kampen, Kim R. “The discovery and early understanding of leukemia.” Leukemia research 36.1 (2012): 6-13. | |
| Awang, Halimah, et al. “Understanding ageing: fear of chronic diseases later in life.” Journal of International Medical Research 46.1 (2018): 175-184. | |
| Di Lonardo, Anna, Sergio Nasi, and Simonetta Pulciani. “Cancer: we should not forget the past.” Journal of cancer 6.1 (2015): 29. | |
| Halperin, Edward C. “Paleo-oncology: the role of ancient remains in the study of cancer.” Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 47.1 (2004): 1-14. | |
| Krush, Anne J. “Contributions of Pierre Paul Broca to cancer genetics.” (1979). | |
| Muehlenbachs, Atis, et al. “Malignant transformation of Hymenolepis nana in a human host.” New England Journal of Medicine 373.19 (2015): 1845-1852. | |
| Patterson, James T. “A Dread Disease: Cancer in Modern American Culture.” The Missouri Review 11.3 (1988): 168-178. | |
| Sobierajski, T., S. Surma, and M. Banach. “Stroke and cancer-investigating the prevalence of fear among the polish population. cross-sectional study.” European Heart Journal Supplements 27.Supplement_6 (2025): suaf083-025. | |
| Weiss, Leonard. “Early concepts of cancer.” Cancer and Metastasis Reviews 19.3 (2000): 205-217. |
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One thought on “Episode 202 Cancer Part 1: What is it?”
I am looking forward to all episodes in this series on cancer.
Two time cancer survivor here and one way I have been able to (sort of) keep going is studying how/why/what is cancer. I was 27 when initially diagnosed. Inoperable recurrence 6 years later threw my life plans out the window! Even though the oncologist calls me his “miracle child”, it is really hard to feel like I have been given a second chance. Survivor guilt was gut wrenching.
I have re read The Emperor of all Maladies and looking forward to reading the show notes.
Love this show. Thank you
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