History of Prostate Cancer

Helen Valier is Director of the Medicine & Society Program at The Honors College, University of Houston, USA. Her teaching and research interests fall broadly within western and colonial/postcolonial medicine and technology from late nineteenth to late twentieth century.

• 1. Introduction: Cancer and the making of modern medicine. - 2. The problematic prehistory of prostate cancer. - 3. Surgery and Specialization. - 4. Sex, Hormones, and Quantification. - 5. Cancer and clinical trials. - 6. Screening, Patients, and the Politics of Prevention. - 7. Radiotherapy and Evidence in an Age of High Technology. - 8. Conclusions: Medicine, masculinity, and the problems of the prostate

“Valier takes on the ambitious task of writing a history of prostate cancer from ancient times through to the present day. … This book-length treatment of prostate cancer is a much-needed addition to cancer history. Valier does a good job of indicating areas of interest and potential further inquiry in her important subject.” (Laura Dawes, The British Journal for the History of Science, Vol. 50 (2), June, 2017)“The text is well written, scholarly and richly referenced, making it a useful starting point for learning about the history of prostate cancer in all its aspects. … Valier delivers a worthwhile lesson about the unintended consequences of medical innovation that is relevant to the trainee doctors, healthcare professionals, biomedical researchers, industry executives and policy makers who will determine how new technologies affect the wellbeing of the public in the future.” (Edward J. Wawrzynczak, BSHM British Society for the History of Medicine, bshm.org.uk, October, 2016)