Jacobs CDC. Henry Kaplan and the Story of Hodgkin’s Disease. Stanford University Press 2010, 456 pages, 31 illustrations, $35.00.
Charlotte Jacobs describes the life of Dr. Kaplan, from the family background as immigrants from Russia to his brilliant career as a physician, radiologist, oncologist and researcher, teacher, mentor and collaborator, whose contributions aided in cure of Hodgkin’s disease. Parallel to the description of Dr. Kaplan’s life, Jacobs follows the history of Hodgkin’s disease from the first documented discovery described by Thomas Hodgkin in1832 and later by Samuel Wilks, who described the character of the disease. Wilks, learning of Thomas’s Hodgkin’s earlier report, named the disease after Hodgkin instead of himself in 1865.
This book describes all aspects of Kaplan’s life. Dr. Henry Seymour Kaplan was born on April 24, 1918, the first son of Sarah and Nathan Kaplan, who had both grown up in the Chicago area after emigrating from Russia. Henry was born with a deformity with two giant fingers on the right hand. He was raised to strive for perfection and his curiosity was nurtured, having been surrounded by books. When his father died of lung cancer, he set his mind to become a physician and conquer the cancer, and this became his life-long passion—a Passion to Cure Cancer. As an associate, he could be the most collegial of collaborators or the most formidable opponent. He set high expectations, insisting on perfection and loyalty. He bruised colleagues with his intolerance and bore the scar of betrayal. He generated extreme emotions, love, hate, devotion and jealousy. Rarely diplomatic, he seemed dictatorial to many. On February 4, 1984, Henry Seymour Kaplan died of lung cancer at age 65.
The book begins with a Ceremony in Tribute to Patients called “Twenty Years of Research and Progress in the Treatment of Hodgkin’s Disease,” held in 1982. More than 400 people attended the ceremony, including survivors of Hodgkin’s disease, their relatives, and colleagues. Donald Kennedy, President of Stanford University, began the program followed by Henry Kaplan, Vincent DeVita and Saul Rosenberg. Two of the survivors also spoke. During the ceremony there was only praise of each other, and no one could detect the years of conflict between Drs. Rosenberg and Kaplan. There was no criticism but only praise from Dr. DeVita, who had publically censured the Stanford protocol. On that day, a great deal was said about courage and success, about Henry Kaplan and Saul Rosenberg, about Hodgkin’s disease, and about patients, but nothing about failure, enmity and despair.
This book is about a man, Dr. Henry Seymour Kaplan, who become Chairman of the Department of Radiology at Stanford University at the age of 30 and died of lung cancer at 65. During the 35 years of his tenure, he was a devoted researcher, teacher, mentor, and collaborator and helped the University to become one of the top institutions in the US. Parallel to the depiction of Kaplan’s life, the history of Hodgkin’s disease is detailed, from the early works of Hodgkin and Wilks to the work of Dorothy Reed, which resulted in the first definitive microscopic descriptions of Hodgkin’s disease (Reed-Sternberg cells), and Vera Peters’ contributions to total nodal radiotherapy and her relationship with Dr. Kaplan. Ms. Jacobs accurately depicts Dr. Kaplan’s role in cure of Hodgkin’s disease and his relationships with his colleagues at the University, nationally and internationally.
This information and historical factors are very well presented, the texts accurate, and selected references are adequate and good. Jacobs interviewed many people, including family members, those who worked with Dr. Kaplan, and colleagues, exposing Dr. Kaplan’s humanity, not limiting her narrative to his professional career.
In my opinion, this book may not be of particular interest for neuroradiologists, but may be of great interest for those pursuing research and an academic career in any field, especially oncology.
