How Dr. Bernard Fisher made breast cancer treatment 'Less Radical'

The year is 1974.

President Richard Nixon resigns, and Vice President Gerald Ford is sworn into office. Six weeks later, his wife, first lady Betty Ford, is diagnosed with breast cancer. She undergoes the widely accepted breast cancer treatment of time: an intensive surgery called a radical mastectomy.

That surgery removes the breast, underarm lymph nodes, and chest wall muscles. Patients often experienced long recovery times and intense pain.

Nowadays, the radical mastectomy is rarely used to combat breast cancer. Instead, care teams opt for less invasive procedures and radiation treatments that have proven to be just as effective.

And that’s thanks to one man: Dr. Bernard Fisher. Fisher revolutionized breast cancer treatment and how doctors understand cancers of all kinds.

A new six-part podcast series podcast, called “Less Radical,” explores Dr. Fisher’s life, work, and how a fraught congressional probe nearly tarnished his medical legacy. We speak with its creators.