Pulitzer Prize-winning author and physician Siddhartha Mukherjee on the future of cancer

The Ringling College Library Association Town Hall Lecture Series on Monday, March 19 opened with “The Wishing Cranes,” a short animation about two orphaned siblings being whisked away on magical paper cranes. The event’s speaker, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee, said the student film was a fitting choice for the lecture.

“Navigating through the ongoing developments in medicine is like trying to fly a paper crane,” he said.

Mukherjee, the author of “The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer,” began his talk by defining what he called the “challenge of our time,” finding a way to address chronic diseases such as cancer, dementia and heart disease.

“In our generation and our children and grandchildren’s generation, it is unlikely that they will die of infectious diseases, but it is extremely likely that they will die of complications from chronic diseases,” he explained.

His talk focused on cancer specifically and highlighted recent developments in cancer research and treatment such as the use of artificial intelligence, genetic manipulation and precision medicine. While he supports breakthroughs that will help with early detection and prevention of cancer, Mukherjee also asked the audience to think about the moral and social complications that these changes will bring.

“These are not simple questions,” he said. “Yet their effects on us as individuals will keep getting multiplied.”