Introduction: We know how to stop many cancers, so why aren't we? -- Fighting a losing war -- Solving the implementation puzzle : decades of delays in the battle against cervical cancer -- Have we botched a lifesaving lung cancer screening test? -- How to fix a good test gone bad : cleaning up the mess in prostate and breast cancer screening -- From screening to treatment : getting the early-detection message to at-risk populations -- Patient navigators transform cancer care -- Death by zip code -- Lahey Hospital : a lung screening success story -- Overcoming unequal treatment in early-detection programs -- On the cusp of a revolution -- Launching the early-detection revolution

"Catching cancer early remains the single best way to combat a disease that is the second-leading killer in both the US and worldwide. But the vast majority of resources in the fight against cancer are devoted to relatively ineffective late stage treatments. Early Detection examines this important anomaly in an accessible and expertly researched survey. In a co-authorship that brings together the passion and urgency of someone touched deeply by the experience of cancer with the knowledge of a skilled science writer, Ratner and Bonislawski narrate compelling case studies across a range of screening programs and different forms of cancer. They look at the science underpinning early detection and discuss the organizational and social challenges of widespread screening, a dimension that has been shown to be especially important in the COVID-19 pandemic. And they call for the government and the medical establishment to provide resources for expanding screening, especially in economically disadvantaged communities that have traditionally been underserved"--