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Can you tell me about The Tumor 鈥� your first non-legal thriller?

A man called Paul is diagnosed with a terrible brain tumour, a grade four glioblastoma. The first version of the story is what happens now: Paul has surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. He dies within nine months. It鈥檚 devastating. The second version is what could happen by 2025. Paul is treated with focused ultrasound therapy. It isn鈥檛 a cure, but makes his cancer chronic and treatable. He lives 10 years or more, sees his kids grow up.

So what is focused ultrasound therapy?

Focused ultrasound can destroy tumours using beams of ultrasound energy. It can also cook the microscopic bits of a tumour that normal surgery can鈥檛 reach. It is non-invasive, painless and relatively inexpensive.

What conditions can it be used to treat?

In the US it鈥檚 approved to treat uterine fibroids, pain from bone metastases and prostate cancer. In Europe it鈥檚 approved for many other conditions including liver cancer, kidney cancer and Parkinson鈥檚. Globally, there are 58 disorders for which it is in research and development.

How did you, as one of the world鈥檚 most prominent storytellers, get interested in this?

My friend Neal Kassell, a neurosurgeon and chairman of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation, began talking about focused ultrasound non-stop. He asked me to join the board of the foundation to help raise awareness. As a semi-celebrity I get asked to join a lot of boards so I was a little hesitant at first. But then I realised what this technology could do, and how many hundreds of thousands of people could benefit. It has such potential for saving and improving so many lives.

What do you hope to achieve with your book?

The book is free 鈥� we want to expose people to the potential of this technology. We don鈥檛 want to give false hope, but we want to create excitement and awareness and also get people to consider giving money for research.

Did you go and see any focused ultrasound therapies before writing The Tumor?

Yes, I watched a young lady being treated for uterine fibroids. She was wide-awake the whole time; her husband was holding her hand. A close friend also had the same painful condition. After focused ultrasound therapy her transformation was remarkable. Traditionally, both women would have had a hysterectomy, a major surgery that is expensive, takes six weeks to recover from and destroys their fertility. Instead, these women went home immediately with their fertility intact.

How have people reacted to the book?

When readers sound off anonymously online they can say some pretty nasty things. But the reviews have been good for this one. I鈥檝e always aspired to entertain people with high-quality fiction, but The Tumor is different 鈥� it has the power to promote a technology that may save millions of lives. It鈥檚 the most important book I鈥檝e ever written.

This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淎 different kind of thriller鈥�