Dying to Live: How Our Bodies Fight Disease

The human body is a remarkable machine that goes through extraordinary measures to fight disease. However, it has always been a challenge for the curious general reader to find a concise and entertaining explanation of the biological processes that combat illness. Dying to Live addresses this need. Written in a clear and accessible style, this book gives an up-to-date account of the inner workings of our immune systems. Aimed at the lay reader, it examines important areas of medical science such as fever, AIDS and cancer. The book highlights the role of the mother in protecting the developing child during and after pregnancy and draws our attention to the changes in our immune system throughout life. The author looks at vaccinations and how pathogens evade their effects and considers the impact of lifestyle, stress, exercise, dietary, and hereditary factors on our ability to fight disease. The theme central to the book, from which the title derives, is the idea that in the war against disease our bodies sacrifice millions of cells--antibodies and other specialized elements of the immune system. Only by pitting these immune cells against infectious agents can we continue to survive. This current and enlightening book will interest anyone who has ever wondered what is happening in our bodies when we get ill and how we recover. An expert on immunology in general and the thymus gland in particular, Marion Kendall has edited several books and published over 100 articles on these subjects. Dr. Kendall has lectured extensively in Europe, Canada, and the United States.