Cancer, Radiation Therapy, and the Market (Routledge Studies in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine)

Context

This unique book offers a fascinating story concerning the broader consequences of a medical enterprise affecting the lives of millions of Americans.Dr. Barbara B. Perkins examines one of the most maladroit medical technologies of our day: radiation therapy. This book is a scholarly work investigating a prime controversy of modern medicine: the disconnect between technology and health. Barbara Perkins' work builds from a carefully detailed analysis to address a more general question: what are the implications of market forces in shaping the design of medical technologies?Distinguishing herself from so many other works, the author carefully builds a scholarly investigation revealing the intersection between medical treatment and market mechanisms. Perkins' work unabashedly acknowledges the implications of merging medicine and finance; there are no easy reforms or tinkering solutions. Cancer, Radiation Therapy, and the Market lifts the veil on conflicts embedded in technologies and treatments shaped under advanced capitalism. This is a work opening the door on what should soon become a growing public debate: the conflict between health and wealth.