This is the story of a killer and the people fighting to stop it. Breast cancer takes the life of an American woman every twelve minutes. Thereis no sure cure for the disease, no known way to prevent it, and no means ofpredicting whom it will strike next. A community of dogged adversaries standsin opposition to it: mavericks and bureaucrats, brilliant innovators andeveryday heroes. Often at passionate odds in temper and technique, they areunited in their resolve against an elusive, implacable enemy. "To Dance withthe Devil" is an unprecedented behind-the-scenes account from the war on oneof medicine's most pernicious foes. The product of over three years of research, scores of interviews with thenation's top doctors, policymakers, researchers, and activists, and in-depthreporting on the patients and clinicians who invited the author into theirlives, "To Dance with the Devil" is at once an up-to-the-minute report anda gripping human drama. For a year Karen Stabiner was a steady observer at theinnovative UCLA Breast Center, following the progress of Dr. Susan Love, theeminent breast surgeon and author, and a number of Love's patients. From UCLA, Stabiner's narrative spirals out to examine the turbulent national scene: partisan politics and budget crises; pioneering research and dire experimentaltreatments; managed care and the battle to shape its future; high stakes, highsociety fund-raising; and the brutally competitive race for answers anddollars. From the White House and the halls of Congress to the cutting-edge labs of topgenetic researchers, from glittering charity events to the realities of managedcare and the private triumphs and tragedies of individualpatients, here is amust-read inside story of the new campaign against breast cancer -- a newparadigm of hope for women and those who love them. It is a stunning account, destined to irrevocably change the way we think about this devastatingepidemic. " "To Dance with the Devil" is a stunning piece of work: an absolutely lucid, entirely absorbing, and meticulously reported exploration of culture and politics at the cutting edge of medicine." -- Joan Didion "Karen Stabiner's book reads like a gripping adventure novel, with the pain and politics of breast cancer as protagonist. It even has a surprise finish, although the present cold, stark reality of this disease preclues the unambiguous ending we all so fervently hope for." -- Joanna Bull, Founder and Executive Director, Gilda's Club, Cancer Support Community