Free The Tumor: A Non-Legal Thriller by John Grisham

Dear Reader

    My knowledge of medicine and medical research is quite limited. When I was a student, I drifted away from science and math, preferring instead subjects I considered less demanding. I eventually made it to law school and became a lawyer. After a brief career suing people (never a doctor, though), I stumbled upon fiction and wrote a couple of books. Others followed, and I happily shuttered the law office. Because the books have done well, I have been lucky enough to dabble in philanthropy. Once you get the reputation of being generous, a lot of opportunities present themselves.
    Seven years ago, my friend and neighbor, Neal Kassell, gave a PowerPoint presentation on focused ultrasound therapy. Neal is a prominent neurosurgeon who’s spent his career drilling through skulls and making repairs to brains. During the PowerPoint, Neal, with great enthusiasm, explained that focused ultrasound therapy could one day alleviate the need for conventional brain surgery. Tumors would be destroyed using beams of ultrasound energy, and afterward the patient would walk out of the operating room and go home. Not only would the treatment be non-invasive, painless, quick, and relatively inexpensive, it could also save the patient’s life.
    Focused ultrasound therapy is still in its early stages, still experimental, but there is enough research to date to be very optimistic.
    The brain is just the starting point. Tumors in the breast, prostate, pancreas, liver, kidneys, and bones could be treated on an out-patient basis. Neal loves to use the example of a man with prostate cancer undergoing focused ultrasound therapy, then driving himself back to the office for a few hours. Later, he goes home to celebrate his wedding anniversary with his wife. They share a champagne toast to growing old together.
    This is not science fiction. Around the world, 50,000 men with prostate cancer have been treated with focused ultrasound. Over 22,000 women with uterine fibroids (benign tumors of the uterus) have been treated, thus avoiding hysterectomies and infertility. Clinical trials for tumors of the brain, breast, pancreas and liver, as well as Parkinson’s disease, arthritis, and hypertension are inching forward at over 225 research sites around the world.
    Though focused ultrasound technology is in its infancy, there is great enthusiasm for its potential to improve the quality of life and decrease the cost of care. This potential, though, remains to be fully demonstrated through additional laboratory research and clinical trials.
    But progress is too slow. There are barriers from regulators, insurance companies, even many in the medical field.
    I have found no other cause, issue, non-profit, or charity that can potentially save so many lives. One day in the not-too-distant future, you or someone you love will be diagnosed with a tumor. After the shock, you will think of focused ultrasound.
    Let’s hope it’s available.

Chapter 1
    The Patient
    Meet Paul, a 35-year-old banker with a lovely wife, Karen, and three small children. They enjoy a nice life in the suburbs with lots of friends and the usual activities—backyard cookouts, swim parties, tee-ball, church on Sundays. They are active and enjoy great health. Paul’s parents are in their 60s and also very healthy. Paul gets a complete physical once a year, jogs twenty miles a week, plays golf and tennis at a nearby club, and avoids extra pounds. He has an occasional beer, doesn’t smoke, and takes no medication.

Chapter 2
    The Tumor
    But Paul has a problem. He has a tumor in the right frontal lobe of his brain, about the size of a hen’s egg.
    Looking back, the first symptom was a gradual decrease in his ability to concentrate at work. Naturally curious and active, he noticed an uncharacteristic tendency to procrastinate. At times he felt listless and tired. Then the headaches arrived, and with a fury. He blamed them on stress and took lots of ibuprofen. As he drove to work one morning,