SURVIVING THE CANCER SYSTEM - Softcover

FESEN

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0814413560 ISBN 13: 9780814413562

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education / Europe, Middle East & Africa, 2009

Synopsis

According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 8.4 million Americans alive today have suffered from or currently suffer from cancer. Newly diagnosed patients and their loved ones are in for a long battle—not only against the disease but against a healthcare system that can be impersonal and frighteningly complicated to navigate. How can patients ensure they get the care they so desperately need? Informed patients are the best advocates for their own health—and in Surviving the Cancer System, renowned oncologist Mark Fesen arms readers with the in-depth information they need to take control of their own care. With his candid advice, patients will learn to:

• choose the right team of doctors and ask the right questions

• understand cancer as both a disease and a business

• develop greater understanding of a cancer diagnosis and what the prognosis might be

• evaluate treatment options

• establish proper communication with their oncologists

• prepare mentally and physically to fight the illness

• get the most from their insurance coverage—and what to do if they have none

At last, those coping with cancer can cut through the red tape and take charge of their own treatment—and their own health.

About this title

About the Author

Mark Fesen, MD, FACP (Hutchinson, KS), an oncologist, has dedicated 28 years of education and 14 years of clinical practice to better care for his patients and their diseases―from lymphomas and breast cancer to lung cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer.

From the Back Cover

[This] book meets the challenge of containing a wealth of practical information while being remarkably easy to read. It covers so many aspects of cancers that all of us, patients, family members, physicians, and caregivers, will find it a long-lasting reference. It is an honest and often moving account of cancer patients and of your experiences. I recommend this book to cancer patients, libraries, and health professionals.

Dr. Yves Pommier, National Cancer Institute Lab Director

If you or someone you care about is facing cancer, you need to know this: You re fighting more than an illness. You re battling an impersonal and complex health­care system where the unspoken reality is that the quality of care you receive is directly related to how knowledgeable you are as a patient.

Surviving the Cancer System can literally save your life. Written by a respected oncologist and patient advocate, this all-in-one guide takes you inside the system to reveal invaluable strategies for getting the care you need, including:

How to turn your panic into a proactive plan of action and avoid potentially fatal delays

What to look for in an oncologist to ensure that he or she will meticulously coordinate your care and relentlessly pursue treatment options

How cancers are classified, and why some seemingly ominous prognoses, such as stage IV testicular cancer that has traveled to the brain, are actually highly treatable

Why fears of the side effects from chemotherapy and radiation are often exaggerated and can cloud your decision-making abilities

How to decide between perplexing treatment options, such as a mastectomy or a lumpectomy with radiation therapy

Nothing provokes more dread and confusion than cancer. Surviving the Cancer System arms you with the knowledge and power you need to confront the challenges ahead from navigating an indifferent bureaucracy to weighing the value of clinical trials, and from managing costs to maximizing chances of survival.

Mark R. Fesen, MD, FACP, is an oncologist and internist with 15 years of clinical practice caring for his patients and their myriad diseases from lymphomas and breast cancer to lung cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer. He is a graduate of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. He has trained at the National Cancer Institute and is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Kansas. He lives in Hutchinson, Kansas.

Edition details

• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education / Europe, Middle East & Africa
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0814413560
• ISBN 13: 9780814413562
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288