first, 40 years ago this past friday, december 23, president richard nixon declared the war on cancer. >> and i hope that in the years ahead that we may look pack on this day and this action as being the most significant action taken during this administration. >> president nixon had big expectations, and we have come a long way since 1971. but still even today, cancer's going to strike down one in four americans. there are smart people who will tell you up front that we may be losing the war on cancer. this morning i want to talk about our successes rather than our failures. at the end of world war ii, doctors had few weapons against cancer. you could cut it out, blast it with radiation. got terrible side effect. but there wasn't medicine, good medicine. one day in 1947, a 2-year-old boy came through the door at children's hospital in boston. robert sandler had leukemia. it had broken through his bones. his twin elliot watched the ambulance take him away. back then the disease meant death in a matter of weeks, maybe months. but at children's hospital, dr. sidney farber was on to something. a kind of magic potion that was the first chemotherapy drug. robert sandler was in the first group to receive it. there's his mother more than 50 years later in a family video. >> every day to the hospital by street car, by bus because we didn't have a car. >> imagine the jubilation had it worked. within weeks, robert was back on his feet, with the family. christmas, 1948, still doing well. but it didn't last. >> and he had one month to go to be 4 when he died. >> robert died in the summer of 1949. nearly two full years after cancer struck. the scientific triumph that never did trump a family's pain. >> that's my bad memories of losing my son after having him declared cured because they used him as a guinea pig. >> i first heard about this story from dr. sid mukurgee. a can specialist in new york who has written a real history of cancer and treatment called "emperor of all maladies: a biography of cancer." sometimes in television it's hard to get editors and producers to buy into a story about something like cancer or hiv/aids, or something that they think the audience is just not going to find palatable. when you were meeting with publishers and said, "i want to write about cancer," what was the reception? >> the publishers were unbelievably receptive. one has to begin by accepting the numbers. you know, one in two men, one this three women in america will face the disease personally directly. it was a fascinating thing. here's something that is going to affect each and every one of our lives. yet we know so little about it in the public sphere, in its history. >> why is that? >> well, part of it is i think there's a reaction. you know, there's a lot of denial. we don't want to hear it. it's the big "c." i tell the story in the book of fanny rosenau, a breast cancer survivor from the 1950s. she calls the times and says i'd like it place an advertise. for survivors of breast cancer. the "times" says, you know, we can't print the words "breast" and "cancer" in t"the new york time times". what if we print an ad for women with survival of the chest wall. today you can't open the paper and not see the word "cancer." yet there's the same visceral reaction. >> you dedicated the book to a boy. tell me how that came about and what you learned afterwards. >> i became obsessed in writing the book in finding stories of patients, historical patients. one of the stories was who was the first kid being treated for leukemia by sidney farber. i thought i would find it in boston since he was in boston. i found his name amazingly when i went to india and found it through a friend. someone referred me and had kept a log -- >> a log from that -- >> exactly. his name was robert sandler. i then -- >> yes, yes. it was r.s. in the -- >> r.s., exactly. it was called "r.s." in the papers, i figured out it was robert sandler. his a picture because -- this biographer had cut out a picture in india and kept it in his roster. i dedicated the book to robert sandler. i found him using the phone peculiar from 1948. went it his house, but of course everything had changed. two weeks after the book was published, i get a phone call, it's his twin on the line, elliot sandler. he was moved to tears. he said, you know, i didn't know this book was written. i opened the book and saw a picture of myself and my twin who i lost. it was an incredible completion, a journey finishing for me. an incredible story. >> and you know what, we tracked down elliot sandler, as well. that's robert's twin brother. he has remarkable memories of what happened in those days 60 years ago. did you know throughout your life your brother's role in history? >> i had no idea until recently until the book came out. i had no idea. >> you dedicated the book to robert sandler. there's a lot of patients in your book that you told their stories. why robert in particular? >> robert was the -- was really part of the first cohort of children to be treated with chemotherapy by sidney farber in boston in 1947. and he -- he had a brief response to the drug and then relapsed. unfortunately, died soon after. but what's amazing about this story, sanjay, is that by adding more combinations of the very same kinds of drugs, eventually this disease that robert had, childhood acute lymphoplastic leukemia became curable by the mid 1970s. it was an enormous victory for pediatric cancer. it was this victory actually that propelled the idea that cancer could be curable. really was a beacon of hope. and richard nixon in launching the war on cancer in 1971 really acknowledged in some sense the fact that this victory had occurred in leukemia. robert is an iconic patient. >> elliot, as the doctor describes this, i know you're obviously his twin. you were very, very young. do you remember anything of those times? >> oh, yes. surprisingly so. the things that he was dead on this book -- absolutely. i can remember the hospital, i can remember the hospital wards. they didn't have curtains as we know them today. they used to put up curtains, four, around the bed so you wouldn't see the patient in pain. >> wow. >> i can remember the nights my mother used to hold my brother and rock him because he was in so much pain. we were very close. i would try to keep him from crying and try to make him happy. and like i said, i remember a lot of things as if they were yesterday. remember being in the train going to the hospital. you'd take a trolley, and then take what we called the elevator which was really a train. and my mother would -- if we could get in the front car, i remember my mother putting us by the front door to watch the train tracks go back. i'll never forget the clickety clack, the da, da, da -- >> seared into your memory for obvious reasons. he's the one who got cancer. did you ever think as his twin, why me or why not me? >> oh -- i very rarely do the what if, coulda, shoulda, except in this one instance. all of my life, i've often wondered why him and not me. in fact, when i first talked to sid here, he made it clear to me -- i asked him pointblack, why me -- why him and not me. what was special? and, you know, he told me it was just a cell that went berserk. and i've often wondered, what if he had been alive, would he be my best friend, would he still be my best friend? >> wow. >> what would we have done? we were identical. >> that's an in-- incredible to think about. you have such a -- such a unique experience in many ways. i appreciate, elliot, you sharing, taking time to share that with us and our audience. and doctor, i've said it before, i'll say it again, it's an amazing book. everyone should read it if you want to learn about cancer and what happened and scientific achievement. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. i should point out the american society of clinical oncologists, the largest organization of doctors who treat cancer patients, they have a vision for the next ten years in the war on cancer. it looks something like this -- designinging smaerter and faster clinical trials that will let cancer patients benefit from new therapies sooner. identifying targeted therapies that will benefit the most patients. and improving electronic medical records to better match cancer patients with clinical trials that target their specific cancers. so a lot to be done. a lot of people hopefully going to benefit. next, a story of healing. got an iraq vet and a special dog, real treatment for ptsd. t, alli can help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat. let's fight fat with alli. ♪ i took some steep risks in my teens. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol's stayed down. lipitor is fda approved to check for liver problems. to reduce the risk simp blood tests tell your doctor if you are taking other medications, or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. [ man ] still love that wind in my face! talk to your doctor. don't kid yourself about the risk of heart attack and stroke. if lipitor's been working for you, stay with it. lipitor may be available for as little as $4 a month with the lipitor co-pay card. terms and conditions apply. learn more at lipitorforyou.com. last weekend we watched as the last u.s. soldiers rolled out of iraq. i there was back in 2003. they say the war is over, but i heard it echoed when i met a former soldier named jeff mitchell. he did two tours of duty in iraq. coming home was a struggle. the damage he suffered was on the inside. and it turned out what he really needed was a friend who could really understand him. ♪ >> the story begins a long time ago with a boy and his mother. >> never expect to have a child and send them to war. >> the boy becomes a man. and then comes 9/11. and the army is calling his name. >> i do remember crying, pleading, begging. then it got it the point where you is to support what they want to do. >> jeff rolled through baghdad in 2003. he did two tours of duty, fighting in the desert. when he comes home, there are violent outbursts. heavy drinking, a stay in rehab, and finally a diagnosis. severe post traumatic stress disorder. >> i never left my room, drinking, the entire time i was awake. there wasn't a whole lot there. come here. >> here it gets better. you see, this story has a girl. jeff gets involved with a group called paws for vets. and he meets tazzy. she'd been picked up running wild in afghanistan. she was a psychological wreck. >> there's six to eight guys and probably eight dogs. the first thing that she did was find a corner and get as far into that corner as she could. i could pet a dog all day, though. >> as you can see, in nine months, she's come a long way. jeff, too. it's obvious he's still on edge. but tazzy makes his life easier. >> go play! >> someone walks up behind them, she'll give jeff a nudge. when the dark thoughts start to cascade, tazzy is there to stem the flow. can she tell? >> it will be something as simple as her coming to me. and whatever else may be going through my mind just gets knocked down a notch or two. >> it may not sound like much, but with tazzy, jeff gets out of the house. even to public events like this one with paws for vets. >> you think about all that moden medicine has to offer. in jeff's case, it wasn't enough sounds like. >> right. >> then this dog comes into his life and seems to help a lot. >> oh, more than a lot. she has saved him. she absolutely -- >> you believe that? >> i absolutely know that she has saved him. >> you done showing off? >> now it's worth pointing out, paws for vets provided tazzy, like all its dogs, at no cost to jeff and his family. they get by strictly on donations. they trained more than 200 service dogs for returning veterans. happy holidays, jeff. up next, the sweet taste of nostalgia. ♪ >> i have to tell you, my kids loved that movie, "ratatouille." and before you sit down to the family meal this weekend, we have tips on how to create longlasting memories. what's this? it's progresso's new loaded potato with bacon. it's good. honey, i love you... oh my gosh, oh my gosh.. look at these big pieces of potato. ♪ what's that? big piece of potato. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. taste and smell help us to form some of our most lasting memories. when you think back to your own childhood and maybe this time of year in particular, the holidays, the first thing you probably think of are those sweetest of sweets that your grandmother used to make perhaps. here to talk more about this, managing editor of cnn's eatocracy blog. welcome back to the program, cat. >> thanks for having me. >> i read your posting and i think the same thing about those types of foods. they conjure up not only good taste but also good memories. first as a doctor, i have to say there was a reason that some grandmoth grandmother's foods tastes as good as they did in templts ingredients compared to now? >> that would be butter and lard and all that stuff we are afraid of now. hey, it's once a year -- let grandma have her say. it just tastes better. >> i don't have my doctor hat on all the time but i have to ask these questions. so you want to preserve or somehow save a lot of these recipes now. you say you didn't get a chance to do it for your own grandmother but you are encouraging other people to do this now. tell us about this project. >> well, i'm on a crusade because i screwed up big time. i was too busy off doing -- chasing boys, being on the cheerleading squad, whatever incredibly important high school things i had to do, i didn't get into the kitchen with my grandmother and learn how to make these recipes and her hands. she didn't write them down and those are lost to the ages. there are all these cook books and websites that can help you make the perfect cookie. i want my grandma's cookies. i don't want anybody else to have to go through that. >> that little pinch of something extra here and there. >> smidge. >> unless you memorized that, you wouldn't remember. how do you go about preserving now some of these recipes for posterity? >> well, we are living in such a fantastic age of technology, all you have to do is bring your video camera into the kitchen with your older relative and talk -- have them talk you through the recipe, get stories from them, when is the first time you made them, could you always get the ingredients for it. capture every one of those steps as they are doing it. if they are a little bit of camera shy, take pictures of their hands. it is just really important to capture that memory and just that feeling of being with them. >> that's a great holiday thing to do. maybe a holiday tradition that is starting now. i appreciate you doing this, cat. thanks for joining us again. happy holidays to you. >> thanks so much. hope you have a delicious holiday. >> i will. thanks. you, too. up next, a special holiday treat for you. i recently sat down for my very first cnn red chair interview. i shared some stories that i've never shared before up until now. >> i used to joke around with my wife when we got married, that i don't think i cried since i was 6 years old and now -- getting a little misty-eyed right now. i think i get a little -- when you think about the things a and -- i'm dr. sanjay gupta. i'm a neurosurgeon. i operate on the brain and spinal cord. i'm also a reporter, a chief medical correspondent for cnn. i try not to be one of those guys who says, look, if you could only see what i have seen. but if you have time to think, if you sit back and think about the fact that we all live in the same world, whether or not you live in a developed or developing world, it is the same world, and by good luck or fortune, you were born into a situation where you have things that other people don't have. but that's it. it was good luck or fortune. it's gotten to the point now where i feel guilty going because i know that i'm going to leave. almost assuredly. we do get to return to a place that has running water, a warm bed, guaranteed food, and most of the people in the places where we go, they don't have that. my guess is that anybody who's done some of the reporting that we've done that a lot of folk at cnn here have done probably have some component of post traumatic stress. we're so lucky, we're so privileged. and you see people who don't have that. i don't know what to say. i mean you do your best and you try and make sure people at least know what's happening around the world so that they may care a little bit more about it. all the arguments that are going on on television, the media coverage of these things that are so inane and so stupid, frankly, and we can feed the hungry children of the world. this we can do. i mean there's a lot of problems we're not going to solve but there's some that we can. so i think about a lot. i got interested in science when my grandfather got sick. that's my mom's father. and a couple of the doctors that cared for him were neurosurgeons. my parents were engineers. they had degrees in engineering and economics and they were interested in business and i just wasn't interested in any of those things and there was nobody in my family who was a scientist, nobody in my family who was a doctor. we never had a doctor in my family, so i finally found something that i thought could spell out the rest of my life and from then on, i was hooked. i was hooked on medicine. i think right around the time i was 12 or 13 years old. i got accepted to med school young. it was interesting. there was a program called "innoflex" which accepted people into medical school out of high school, so i applied like a lot of other kids applied, and i got in. so i was 16 years old when i started. i turned 17 that year. more reason for teasing when you are on a college campus at 16. i never forget your first solo operation. just a sweet lady. she came to see me in my office. and i told her -- she had a brain tumor. it was a benign brain tumor as far as i can tell. literally as i'm walking out the door, i'm about to shut it -- she says, oh, by the way, doctor, how many of these have you done before? i literally turned around i looked at her and i said, ma'am, you wouldn't believe how many of these i've done before. shut the door, walked out. and it went well! so that's how it starts sometimes. >> tough interview to do sometimes. but important to talk about