Customer Reviews

Patient Number One: A True Story of How One CEO Took on Cancer and Big Business in the Fight of His Life

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I have a Friend who just went through this process at John Hopkins. The results at this time are excellent and the procedures are almost exactly what the Author went through. I would recommend this book as a tool for all Patients that are diagnosed with this form of Cancer as a Ray of Hope for their peace of mind. The only downside is the exposing of how our Judicial System treats the Treatment of a serious illness as another point of Law. They should be ashamed and the Judge should be also for overturning a Jury verdict. They wonder why people have no respect for the Law and Jury Trials.

Overall, PATIENT NUMBER ONE is a compelling, dramatic true story that is fast-paced and socially relevant. Though story's most intense moments are played out over laboratory beakers and in the pages of patent infringement law-it's a fascinating read. The subject matter is on par with films like THE INSIDER, bringing to light some very ugly but very timely truths about big business and our legal system.

The premise-- that a CEO whose life was saved by the very technology his company invented, must battle big business to save that same company- is a true David vs. Goliath story, but one with a bittersweet ending.

The people in the story are very compelling, mostly because of the hardships they face and overcome, rather than because of their uniqueness or likability. For example, the protagonist Richard is a rather bland corporate executive, and one who was lucky enough to be in exactly the right place when cancer struck. I empathize with him only because of the complete unfair tactics that are waged against him, not because I necessarily identify with a CEO of a tech firm. The most interesting characters are the scientists at CellPro in charge of saving their boss' life. This task and its pressures are the most riveting aspects of the book, and make for a brilliant read.

Even the strong hearter should be ready for an emotional tug when reading this book. the incredible story of the CEO, Rick Murdock, shows that no one can escape cancer but we can defeat it. At first I thought this would be a book that was basically scientific and confusing but I as pleasantly surprised. It is a fast and wonderful read!

A trully remarkable, and extremely ironic story that keeps the reader entranced, and at times outraged with our own legal system. A much more inticing story than that of "A Civil Action" or "The Insider", given the authors own fight for survival. Anyone will have a hard time putting it down!

This was a riveting story - - read it! You will be uplifted most of the time, and outraged by the final conclusion. Many heros emerge in the telling of this heart-pounding story - - from Murdock the patient to the scientists working in the laboratory to the clinicians offering new hope to cancer victims. Two noteworthy anti-heroes also emerge, U. S. District Court Judge Roderick McKelvie and plaintiffs' attorney Donald R. Ware of Foley, Hoag & Eliot, Boston, MA, whose use of arcane points of law ensured cancer victims would be denied potential life saving technology. These two should enter into a suicide pact to honor the patients who died as a result of their efforts. Interestingly, Mr. Ware's firm represented big business in the book "A Civil Action", another legal saga in which cancer victims were denied.

Although the ghost writer of this tale did yeoman's work, I was overwhelmed on every page by what was between the lines: Rick Murdock would have died from this disease had he not been a rich and powerful CEO of a company that specialized in this treatment area. The average person, that is to say all patients who do not fall into the top 10 percent of wage earners in this country, are subjected to health care that has become increasingly rationed. Mr. Murdock ought to thank his lucky stars and donate the proceeds from his (the ghost writer's) book to hospice.

I have Mantle Cell Lymphoma. There is no cure. I don't what people to stop fighting. I believe that there is a danger sent here in that many people like myself will die before we are afforded the same opportunity. What is Mr. Murdoch doing with the proceeds from this book? If this book was written for noble reasons than donate all the money for this story as to not come across like an elitist who was given a chance to live that others won't. There are many inspiring tales of survival - for those of us that are sick - I certainly don't want to be reminded that he was privaleged. I feel like this was a bit sensationalist.