SURVIVING THE CANCER SYSTEM

Erscheinungsjahr 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8144-1356-2
Verlag: McGraw-Hill Education

Buch, Englisch, 288 Seiten, Format (B × H): 61 mm x 90 mm

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.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Fachgebiete

• Medizin | Veterinärmedizin Medizin | Public Health | Pharmazie | Zahnmedizin Medizin, Gesundheitswesen Medizin, Gesundheit: Sachbuch, Ratgeber
• Medizin | Veterinärmedizin Medizin | Public Health | Pharmazie | Zahnmedizin Klinische und Innere Medizin Psychoonkologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

CONTENTS Author’s Note ix Acknowledgments xi 1 Surviving the System: You’re Fighting More Than an Illness 1 2 The Sudden Cancer Panic Syndrome: Don’t Pay the High Price of Panic 8 3 Your Most Important Relationship: How Your Oncologist Measures Up 16 4 Cooperation and Consensus: Bonding with Your Oncology Team 29 5 Understanding Cancer: It’s Not Just One Disease 39 6 Major Cancer Centers: What Every Patient Should Know 48 7 Insurance Angles: Making the System Work for You 70 8 Chemotherapy, Radiation, Surgery: Innovations, Promises, and Pitfalls 88 9 The Pharmaceutical Industry: Friend or Foe? 105 10 Making Your Own Luck: Tested Ways to Improve Survival Chances 119 11 Back to Your Life: When to Say “Yes” to Travel, Work, Exercise, and Sex 134 12 Supportive Care Insights: How to Better Tolerate Treatment 145 13 Clinical Wisdom: How I Might Do It 156 14 Lymphomas, Myeloma, Leukemias, and Other Blood Cancers: Frequently Overlooked Problems 196 15 The Hospice Dilemma: Why It’s Not Always the Answer 212 16 Hands-On Practical Help and Public Policy Advocacy: How You Can Make a Difference for Cancer Patients 224 Appendix 50 Questions and Answers: What My Patients Ask 243 Resources 254 Index 265 About the Author 274

Über Autor(innen)

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.