As a program development director for a hospice organization, I was especially grateful for Dr. Fesen's comprehensive overview of the cancer system. His work gives ready access to professionals who work with patients and need a wide-angle lens on the subject. Despite my 25 years as a pastor, my work as a hospice chaplain, and my work as a program development director, much of what Dr. Fesen wrote about was unknown to me. Anyone wishing to gain a working knowledge on all facets of the cancer system - from pharmaceuticals, to treatment options, to participation in clinical trials, etc., - will find it here. Dr. Fesen, though a brilliant oncologist, writes in a style that anyone with serious interest and a layperson's aptitude can understand. Moreover, he exposes much that escapes detection, i.e., aspects that would typically leave the cancer patient exposed to exploitation either through ignorance or questionable decision-making in the pursuit of exotic solutions. The book is candid, useful, and thorough - not another one like it that I know of. Should be read by anyone aspiring to care-giving who has a non-medical background, and probably should be read by many of those practicing medicine as a point of accountability within the system itself. Needless to say, anyone with cancer in the family or recently diagnosed with cancer will find this book a welcome read in terms of developing a game plan/strategy for the difficult road ahead. - Mike Hambley, Program Development Director, Hospice & HomeCare of Reno County
Author(s): Mark Fesen M.D. F.A.C.P.
Edition: 1
Publisher: AMACOM
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 289
Contents......Page 8
Author’s Note......Page 10
Acknowledgments......Page 12
1 Surviving the System: You’re Fighting More Than an Illness......Page 16
2 The Sudden Cancer Panic Syndrome: Don’t Pay the High Price of Panic......Page 23
3 Your Most Important Relationship: How Your Oncologist Measures Up......Page 31
4 Cooperation and Consensus: Bonding with Your Oncology Team......Page 44
5 Understanding Cancer: It’s Not Just One Disease......Page 54
6 Major Cancer Centers: What Every Patient Should Know......Page 63
7 Insurance Angles: Making the System Work for You......Page 85
8 Chemotherapy, Radiation, Surgery: Innovations, Promises, and Pitfalls......Page 103
9 The Pharmaceutical Industry: Friend or Foe?......Page 120
10 Making Your Own Luck: Tested Ways to Improve Survival Chances......Page 134
11 Back to Your Life: When to Say “Yes” to Travel, Work, Exercise, and Sex......Page 149
12 Supportive Care Insights: How to Better Tolerate Treatment......Page 160
13 Clinical Wisdom: How I Might Do It......Page 171
14 Lymphomas, Myeloma, Leukemias, and Other Blood Cancers: Frequently Overlooked Problems......Page 211
15 The Hospice Dilemma: Why It’s Not Always the Answer......Page 227
16 Hands-On Practical Help and Public Policy Advocacy: How You Can Make a Difference for Cancer Patients......Page 239
Appendix: 50 Questions and Answers: What My Patients Ask......Page 258
Resources......Page 269
B......Page 280
C......Page 281
E......Page 282
I......Page 283
N......Page 284
P......Page 285
S......Page 286
T......Page 287
Z......Page 288
About the Author......Page 289
