As kids, Richard Jones and Michael McCormick played ball, shot pool, listened to Beatles records and stirred up occasional minor trouble in their hometown near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They grew up down the street from one another and both attended nearby Bucknell University. They’ve remained close friends for nearly 60 years and, in 2024, became co-authors.

Rogue Cells: A Conversation on the Myths and Mysteries of Cancer is the result of a collaboration between Jones — a professor of medicine, oncology and pathophysiology at Johns Hopkins; director of the Bone Marrow Transplant Program; and co-director of the Hematologic Malignancies Program at the Kimmel Cancer Center — and McCormick, a recently retired software and systems engineer.

Together, they aim to demystify the disease that takes more than 600,000 American lives each year.

Rogue Cells is a comprehensive look at cancer, from stem cells to metastasis to diagnosis. The book also gives readers a close look at the mechanics of cancer prevention and treatment.

Though Jones is the cancer expert who supplies the science behind the disease and its treatments, the book is written in McCormick’s informal, conversational voice.

When McCormick retired from a long career in information technology, Jones asked him what his plans were.

“Mike gave me the typical retirement answer,” Jones says with a laugh. “He said he was going to do some volunteering and play some golf.” So Jones invited McCormick to collaborate on a book about a disease that Jones has spent his career treating and researching.

In addition to science and statistics, Rogue Cells has heart; McCormick and Jones have laughed at silly jokes, grieved at losses of friends and family, and celebrated life milestones since their days playing Wiffle ball in central Pennsylvania. Their close bond is evident throughout their book.

For example, McCormick tells us that years ago, his mother’s physicians failed to notice her cancer on a scan taken after she broke a hip. Seeking a second opinion from his friend, he later showed the scan to Jones, who identified the disease right away. Jones’ father died of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) long before modern treatments allowed 85% of today’s CML patients to live as long as adults without cancer. It’s human nature to wonder how Jones’ father would fare today.

Anecdotes like these distinguish Rogue Cells from more scientific or academic texts. Jones and McCormick strike the delicate balance between hard science and human emotion. Their book is both substantive and heartfelt, inviting readers into the authors’ long friendship and providing a road map through the cancer experience.

Part of that balance lies in explaining complicated science in ways that are understandable to general readers without sacrificing nuance. Is cancer preventable? Is it more common than it used to be? How does chemotherapy work? How successful is “targeted therapy” in treating cancer? These are among the questions the authors examine in Rogue Cells. Their explanations are simple and elegant but still respectful of the topic’s complexity.

Rogue Cells tells us not only that tobacco smoke increases cancer risk, but also why and how. Sure, a healthy diet promotes recovery. But in Rogue Cells, Jones and McCormick explain why.

“I’ve seen that patients do a lot better when they understand why we’re doing what we’re doing,” Jones says.