Part 2: An Impatient War Summary and Analysis

Part 2: An Impatient War

"They form a society"

Farber knew that in order to launch a national attack on cancer he would have to form a society. Only a formidable group would be able to convince Congress to fund research.

Mukherjee tells the story of Mary Woodward Lasker. Mary Woodward was the daughter of a dynamic sales woman named Sara Johnson. Sara gave up her career to become a philanthropist. Years later, Mary would follow in her footsteps. Mary married Albert Lasker, an advertising genius. The couple began to campaign for funds to fight cancer. In the late 1940s, the Laskers - especially Mary - joined forces with Farber.

"These new friends of chemotherapy"

The Farber-Lasker friendship grew and soon the small society was making headway. Things changed when Albert Lasker was diagnosed with colon...