Book Description
A brilliant young transplant surgeon brings moral intensity and narrative drama to the most powerful and vexing questions of medicine and the human condition.
When Pauline Chen began medical school twenty years ago, she dreamed of saving lives. What she did not count on was how much death would be a part of her work. Almost immediately, Chen found herself wrestling with medicine’s most profound paradox, that a profession premised on caring for the ill also systematically depersonalizes dying. Final Exam follows Chen over the course of her education, training, and practice as she grapples at strikingly close range with the problem of mortality, and struggles to reconcile the lessons of her training with her innate knowledge of shared humanity, and to separate her ideas about healing from her fierce desire to cure.
From her first dissection of a cadaver in gross anatomy to the moment she first puts a scalpel to a living person; from the first time she witnesses someone flatlining in the emergency room to the first time she pronounces a patient dead, Chen is struck by her own mortal fears: there was a dying friend she could not call; a young patient’s tortured death she could not forget; even the sense of shared kinship with a corpse she could not cast aside when asked to saw its pelvis in two. Gradually, as she confronts the ways in which her fears have incapacitated her, she begins to reject what she has been taught about suppressing her feelings for her patients, and she begins to carve out a new role for herself as a physician and as human being. Chen’s transfixing and beautiful rumination on how doctors negotiate the ineluctable fact of death becomes, in the end, a brilliant questioning of how we should live.
Moving and provocative, motored equally by clinical expertise and extraordinary personal grace, this is a piercing and compassionate journey into the heart of a world that is hidden and yet touches all of our lives. A superb addition to the best medical literature of our time.
Customer Reviews:
Surgeons are human too... crystal clear honesty from an accomplished professional.......2007-08-27
This book had much value for me personally. I'm not a doctor or a pre-med student. I picked this book up by chance on the "new book" shelf at our local library. We had a son who was born with a severe, rare chromosomal syndrome. He stood no chance of survival yet sincere, overly zealous surgical professionals endeavored to schedule surgery without discussion or consultation from we parents even as he struggled to stay alive on life support. My son had absolutely no prospects of surviving infancy, much less a life free of tortuous pain. What hurt the most was how we, the parents, had to stand up for our rights to allow our son the dignified and welcome relief that could come only through death. It was clear to us, as it is clear to Dr. Chen in her book, that the highly trained and zealous surgical professionals lacked the sensitivity to fully appreciate or consider the moral aspects and shamelessness of dying peacefully with dignity.
This book has moving first person accounts of what ridiculous decisions are being made when death is unavoidable and stands there to relieve those whose continued suffering is senseless. I was particularly moved by the account of the "full court press" given to a dying cancer patient who triggered the "code blue". We owe much to Dr. Chen for making public this and other events that fully expose the deficiencies in the medical community's approach to care of the terminally ill.
Dr. Chen's emotional honesty in this very personalized narrative is a great tribute to those of her profession who have struggled at being competent professionals while retaining the qualities of moral and compassionate human beings.
A remarkable book by a remarkable woman.......2007-08-25
This is a deeply engaging and moving book. To become an accomplished transplant surgeon demands many gifts, including high intelligence, perseverance, physical skill, focus. What is not required, and what Dr. Chen displays in full measure herein, is the ability to examine one's actions and feelings with the kind of introspection and depth demonstrated in "Final Exam". One also does not necessarily expect a fine surgeon to be a fine writer. Dr. Chen is a very fine writer.
Anyone interested in the psychological and philosophical issues surounding modern medicine should read this book.
Fascinating--Exquisitely Written--Full of Heartfelt Honesty.......2007-07-07
"Final Exam: A Surgeon's Reflections on Mortality" by Pauline W. Chen is outstanding on many levels. Its purpose is to reveal what is wrong with the medical profession's attitude toward the treatment of terminally ill and dying patients. But don't expect an academic discussion; Chen makes this issue very personal. The book is a recounting of the many experiences in her own medical career--from medical student to transplant surgeon--that shaped and later changed her attitude toward care of patients at the end of life.
I had no particular reason to read this book--I am not a doctor, the parent of a doctor, or involved in any way with the medical profession. I just saw this book on the New Books shelf in my local library and checked it out. What is amazing is that I could not put this book down--I know that sounds so trite, but it's true. What grabbed me first was the wholly unexpected openness and honesty of the author. What grabbed me next was the beautiful clear prose. Here was a brilliant woman doctor telling me all about the many experiences in her medical career that shaped her current convictions about medical care at the end of life. But she was not just telling me about these medical experiences, she was turning herself inside out to reveal how she actually FELT about each experience. How many doctors have you ever heard talk to you about their feelings? This author brought me close to her heart--I felt like a sister or a dear friend.
I came away from this book with a far greater respect for physicians; especially all they have to deal with, physically and mentally, throughout their long years of training and practice. I also come away with a far greater appreciation for the human frailty of physicians, particularly when dealing with-end of-life issues. This is a profession that has to deal with far more than a normally allotted human share of agony, grief, and soul-searching.
Now what?.......2007-06-04
As an undergraduate humanities teacher, I have often observed how unimaginative pre-med students can be (as well as very bright, of course). So this sensitively written, introspective memoir is a surprise and delight. I am, as an older person now, also happy to see medical activism admitting its ultimate helplessness in the face of human mortality. After all doctors eventually lose every one of their patients, don't they? On the other hand, what has Pauline to offer us in the face of the ultimate modern terror except a tear and some time? I understand that is the best we often have these days, but it's not much. As a medievalist, I live much of my life in a world where this fragile life and this frail body are passing things to be happily cast off of as a precondition to an eternal life free of the suffering that Chen sets before us so poignantly.
I am not suggesting that the beliefs of the medieval world were correct but that our ancestors had a rich tradition of ideas, feelings and rituals with which to face this ultimate challenge to life as we know it. If the price of the modern world's enormous skill in prolonging life was dependent on overthrowing the beliefs of traditional Western culture, what have we gained but a few more years and the terror of slipping alone into eternal darkness? I hope Pauline weeps for that as well someday; if she can write another book afterwards, it may well be a masterpiece.
How a surgeon deals with death.......2007-05-30
As shocking and gory as the medical world is portrayed on television, it seldom comes close to reality, a lesson that Pauline W. Chen regurgitates in FINAL EXAM as she describes her academic (and continuing) education in the most difficult of all lessons: dealing with death.
I'm no psychologist, but sometimes I wonder if doctors go into the profession because of a God complex, where they wield such awesome power; patients defer to their wisdom and put their fates completely into their hands. Then comes the inevitable day when the physician loses her first patient, whether due to something she did or didn't do, or because nature has taken its course. It must be quite a blow to the ego.
Then the transformation occurs.
The doctor can go one of two ways. She can either steel herself against death or learn from it and become a more compassionate caregiver.
Chen, who attended Harvard University and the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, paints a compelling picture, but one that is not for the squeamish. She discusses her first interaction with a corpse as she and her fellow med students learned anatomy through dissection. The respect and "relationship" that developed is touching, as Chen realizes this former life force had a history, a family, hopes and dreams, just as she does.
Over the course of her studies and through her residency, Chen learns that her work is not parceled out as neatly as television shows such as "ER" and "Grey's Anatomy." The victims do not lie in bed neatly as doctors and nurses struggle to keep them alive. They slide around, bleed, moan and cry out.
There is no part of Chen's story that isn't saturated with sadness, even as she is learning. Every new character is destined to die. How will Chen respond? Will she reach out to the dying man and his family? Will she try to hide until the end has come and avoid it all?
For all the emotion, Chen does not come down on one side or the other on the technology that is available to keep the patient going. Indeed, most of the people she discusses have decided to go out on their own terms.
What must one feel upon being given that death sentence? How does a doctor ever get used to passing down that sentence, when nothing else can be done? "[T]he words emerge," Chen writes in a chapter titled "Sorry to inform you" "so softly that I see everyone leaning in as I speak. 'I wonder,' I hear myself saying to these people, 'if you have thought of what you want at the end of life?'"
Taking a very cynical stance, as lofty as the author's intentions are, FINAL EXAM reminds me of a line from "I'm a Loser": "Is it for her or myself that I cry?"
--- Reviewed by Ron Kaplan
Book Description
Five years after its first publication, with more than 150,000 copies in print,
Final Gifts has become a classic. In this moving and compassionate book, hospice nurses Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley share their intimate experiences with patients at the end of life, drawn from more than twenty years experience tending the terminally ill.
Through their stories we come to appreciate the near-miraculous ways in which the dying communicate their needs, reveal their feelings, and even choreograph their own final moments; we also discover the gifts—of wisdom, faith, and love—that the dying leave for the living to share.
Filled with practical advice on responding to the requests of the dying and helping them prepare emotionally and spiritually for death,
Final Gifts shows how we can help the dying person live fully to the very end
Customer Reviews:
A must have for everyone.......2007-09-30
This book had everything I needed to understand what my dad was going through as he slowly prepared to die. It made it all so understandable and much easier to accept. Not only is everything explained, it gives concrete examples from the author's experiences as Hospice nurses. Such an informative and comforting book to have...I have read it numerous times and find new things each time as the dying process progressed. I would recommend it to everyone.
A Tad Sugar -Coated?.......2007-09-28
I hate to be a wet blanket because so many people have drawn so much strength from this book. I found it to be extremely helpful in learning to listen to the symbolic language of dying people--a perspective that, in itself, is worth the read. It troubles me, however, that almost all of the deaths were reported as peaceful, even joyous, that almost all family members were healthy and fulfilled. Most of the dying people were young, smart, and/or extremely articulate.
I would have appreciated an account that included the not-so-pretty experiences of death--the ambiguous, ambivalent, hard, messy parts.
Including those pieces would have made the book more helpful.
The interventions of the authors were somehow just too neat and tidy.
Should be required reading for every human being!.......2007-09-26
My daughter and I think that EVERYONE should read this book. Sooner or later, most of us will need it. I read this book after bringing my Mother
home from hospital and placing her under Hospice care. I was with her 24/7 for that last month she lived. I cannot even begin to tell you what a help this book was to me and all members of my family. This book changed our lives. We look at life and death so differently than we did previously. I felt honored to be there through all the changes and the death of my Mother.
A book to share.......2007-09-18
I read this book while my grandmother was dying; I wish I had read it sooner. I have purchased multiple copies of this book and try to have a copy on hand at all times to share with the next person experiencing this process. The insights that the authors share are helpful in understanding this process without attempting to put it into a religious context, but in the dying person's language. They explain the value of listening to that person and what they are saying and respecting their choices.
Everyone needs to read this book, not just those who are experiencing this now, with someone, but everyone. We all will face this death sooner or later and the preparation this book gives invaluable insight into that final gift.
GREAT BOOK!!!!!.......2007-08-30
This book will help families and health care professionals understand the precious time surrounding death. So well written, it will make you laugh and cry and feel more comfort around a topic our society tends to avoid. I work in oncology and highly highly recomend this book to nurses, physicians, families, ANYONE. We all deal with death and this book really helps you to understand a new perspective!
Book Description
TextMate is a powerful tool for programmers, web designers, and anyone else who regularly needs to work with text files on Mac OS X. TextMate focuses on pragmatic automation, which means it will save you time time that's always in short supply. See how your lowly text editor can become a hard working member of your staff.
TextMate is a full-featured text editor available for Mac OS X that can greatly enhance your text manipulation skills. TextMate is actually a thin shell over a personalized team of robot ninjas ready to do your bidding. Let's face it, who doesn't want their very own team of robot ninjas?
With TextMate you can do your normal work, but signal the ever-watchful ninjas as you go. At your command, they will launch into action, slicing through text, building repetitive structures of data in the blink of an eye, and much more. They will even post to your blog, handle your IRC conversations, and read your email.
Inside this book you will learn how to teleport instantly to the exact line of the file you need to be on, edit the data with the briefest incantations of power, and banish the end result to the land of your choosing. It's magic, as you can plainly see.
Leave the days of dull work behind. Learn your spells, gain access to your team of robot ninjas, and you too will be able to edit text so effortlessly that everyone watching over your shoulder will be forced to ask, "Wait, how did you do that?"
Customer Reviews:
Do you have the power?.......2007-09-24
Visuals:
The font size in the Pragmatic Programmers books is a little larger than say the O'Reilly books, which I personally like. Easy on the eyes. Screenshots are clearly printed.
Readability:
I found the reading style conversational and easy to follow. Of course, with this type of book which includes many keyboard short-cuts you really need to be at your computer and using them to commit them to memory. Even a reading of the book will give you insights into the power available at your finger tips with Textmate.
Practicality:
If you spend any amount of time in Textmate, this is really a no-brainer. This book will help you be more productive and get more out of your chosen text editing tool.
Audience:
The book does not list an intended target audience, but if you use Textmate at all I would say you have a bulls-eye right on you.
Overall:
If you use Textmate get this book.
Get a Mac, get TextMate, get this book........2007-08-05
"TextMate is actually a thin shell over a personalized team of robot ninjas ready to do your bidding."
The funny thing is, to people who have never used TextMate for more than a few minutes the above phrase sounds like an exaggeration. It's not. (As long as you can accept the analogy of "really awesome code running on a Mac" = "robot ninjas"...)
Anyway, this book targets a pretty specific market: 1) Humans, 2) who own Macs, 3) and use TextMate. I'm here to tell you that, if you're human you should have a Mac; and if you have a Mac you should buy TextMate; and if you have TextMate you should buy this book. So there, now it covers everyone.
As with all of the Pragmatic Programmer books, I found this book to be concise without missing anything important. You may be thinking, "200 pages about a text editor!? That's crazy talk!" But you would be wrong, my friend. The amount of functionality built into TextMate is incredible, but I didn't even know the half of it until I started reading this book!
I don't want to give away the ending, but:
Three of my favorite simple features I didn't know about until I read this book:
- Pressing [ESC] to complete the word you're typing.
- The built in TODO list functionality (so crucial!!)
- [Cmd-Enter] to add a new line below this one and go to the beginning of it.
Things I wouldn't have been able to do without TextMate and this book:
- Edit some of my Bundles to make TextMate work even more how *I* like
- Complete an after-hours Web Site project *way* under time and budget
Seriously. TextMate is the One True Editor for Mac (it makes me loath using any other editor on any platform) and this is a great book for learning how to *really* take hold of its power.
The Power of Textmate.......2007-05-28
This book is the perfect primer for what I have found to be one of the most indispensible Mac OS X applications - TextMate. If you are a software developer or web designer or anyone else that edits text on a frequent basis and you have not already discovered TextMate, stop right now and visit http://www.macromates.com.
The Pragmatic Programmers' book, TextMate Power Editing for the Mac is a thorough introduction to TextMate. Edward Gray II has written a very accessible book, that covers the product very well.
The first third of the book is devoted to the basics - things you do every day in your text editor. The second third of the book dives into the details of some really sweet features of TextMate that you'll find yourself using all the time: bundles, snippets, macros and UNIX shell commands.
TextMate ships with over thirty 'bundles'. Each bundle is a directory of related files that provide additional functionality to TextMate. Let's say you're working on an HTML file. The HTML bundle will help you with loads of things related to your document: validate the syntax of the document, open the document in the default browser, refresh the document in the current browser session, insert open/close tags for the current word, strip all HTML tags from the document - just to name a few. Each bundle provides functionality that applies not only to the syntax of the language you're currently working with, but repetitive tasks that would apply as well.
As I mentioned, a couple dozen bundles ship with TextMate and many more are available for free download from various websites. You can even create your own bundles to extend the product in ways that only you can imagine. Here are a few of the bundles that ship with TextMate: Blogging, CSS, HTML, Java, Markdown, Objective-C, Python, Rails, Ruby, SQL, Subversion, Text, Textile, Xcode and XML. Bundles provide you with lots of help editing files and performing related tasks.
Snippets are a smart completion mechanism that go way beyond the simple concept of 'finish this word'. For example, if you are editing a Ruby file and you type array_object.ea followed by the TAB key (where 'array_object' is an arbitrary Array object), the snippet feature will automatically fill in the skeleton of the 'each' iterator, including the opening and closing curly braces, the text '|e|' with the letter 'e' highlighted. You simply type the name of the variable you want to represent the next element (or simply leave it as it is), hit the TAB key again and the cursor will be placed between the closing '|' character and the closing '}' character, ready for you to type in an expression. Very cool. This same trick works for dozens of different scenarios in your Ruby code. And that's just the snippets that apply to Ruby code. There are snippets that apply to a large number of file types.
You've probably seen macros in other editors and TextMate's macro facility works as you might expect: you start recording a macro, perform some actions and save the macro. TextMate saves the macros as XML files, so it's a snap to edit a macro after recording if you need to tweak it a bit.
The ability to fire off UNIX shell commands from within TextMate gives you another powerful tool to use while editing files. You can fire off one-liner shell commands by simply pressing the ^R key on a line containing a shell command. You can also use shell commands to act on all or part of the current document.
For the advanced TextMate user, the tail end of the book shows you how to create your own language syntax for use in TextMate, including how to describe the grammar of the language in terms TextMate will understand. So, if you program in some far out funky language that TextMate doesn't support out of the box, you can add the language grammar to TextMate and program away!
Overall, I found this book extremely useful and easy to read. TextMate ships with an excellent help system that will answer many of your questions. The TextMate Power Editing for the Mac book will take you beyond the built-in help and give you an in-depth guide for this great Mac application.
Become A TextMate Power User Today!.......2007-05-25
For anyone that tells you that you can't so solid code and script development on a Mac, they haven't been introduced to the application TextMate. There are several good options for doing power editing on the Macintosh and TextMate is one of those POWER options.
'TextMate: Power Editing for the Mac' by James Gray is a perfect companion manual for all TextMate users that want to lift the hood off of this power app and get to the nuts and bolts. If you develop on a Macintosh on a daily basis for work or fun and want to learn more about what you can do to make your life easier, pick up this book and you won't be disappointed. Written well and coming in at ~200 pages, there are 12 chapters which will teach you goodies in TextMate like how to create and use Macros, using Find & Replace to quickly edit text, and much, much more!!
The Mac is a great tool for developing code and TextMate is a great app for writing it, make yourself a more efficient coder today!!
***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Great book on a fantastic product.......2007-05-13
Books on editors are tricky things... I'm (still) a big fan and user of vi, but textmate is my tool of choice for more project level work for its capabilties. This book has brought me closer to to the keyboard level of productivity that vi allows for with its two modes.
Average customer rating:
- handbook of Home Health Standards and Documentation
- VERY HELPFUL
- Quickly settles disputes, answers questions, a "MUST" for all home care nurses & their management teams !!!!
- updated verision
- Home Health Standards
|
Handbook of Home Health Standards and Documentation -- Guidelines for Reimbursement
Tina M. Marrelli
Manufacturer: Mosby
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Home Health Nursing: Assessment and Care Planning
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Handbook of Home Health Orientation
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Nurses' Guide to Home Health Procedures
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Handbook of Home Health Care Administration
-
Pocket Guide to Home Care Standards: Complete Guidelines for Clinical Practice, Documentation, and Reimbursement
ASIN: 0323012353 |
Book Description
A standard reference in the home health market, HANDBOOK OF HOME HEALTH STANDARDS & DOCUMENTATION: GUIDELINES FOR REIMBURSEMENT includes everything the home care nurse needs to effectively document care based on accepted professional standards. For each of the more than 60 clinical problems included, this handbook offers detailed standards and documentation guidelines including ICD-9-CM diagnostic codes, service skills, factors justifying homebound status, outcomes and goals, discharge plans, and specific tips for reimbursement. Widely known as the "little red book," the fourth edition has been thoroughly updated and expanded to include new guidelines on trauma and ventilator care, basic assessment tools, OASIS considerations, up-to-date coding, information on the Propsective Payment System (PPS) guidelines, and the most recent government .
Customer Reviews:
handbook of Home Health Standards and Documentation .......2007-08-03
This book was recieved quickly. I founds the book to be very informative and useful. I found the answers to several of my questions I had. I will keep the book close to use for a reference and I am sure I will use it a lot. Thanks.
VERY HELPFUL.......2007-04-02
I love this book because, being in the home health industry you have to know what you're charting. If charting is lacking then you will not get the full reimbursement that you are entitled to. Thanks alot.
Quickly settles disputes, answers questions, a "MUST" for all home care nurses & their management teams !!!!.......2006-04-03
I have the 4th edition (at this time is the most recent edition in print) and as a psych home care nurse, this little, portable wealth of knowledge has helped me validate to management, as well as to public health and other surveyors, the range in situations that qualify "homebound status" for psychiatric patients. Throughout the book there are samples provided to support a variety of situations that help the nurse better understand, and therefore more accurately report, on each sector of the OASIS forms. Medicare regulations are explained in detail, and I learned information that I had not known in the 14 years I have been doing mental health home care nursing. The manual provides a history and background of homecare, its evolution, provides an overview of documentaion, including the importance of coding, and its significance in home care. Also, valuable tips on improving the nursing visit, setting achievable goals, managing the case, and the guidelines for care for all the home care disciplines, are provided, so the nurse can be knowledgable regarding the roles of the other disciplines. There is a great resource section at the end of the book, and home care definitions, roles, and abbreviations are delineated in this manual as well. All home care codes are listed.
With the often-confusing regulations and data gathering tools out there, at least we on the front lines have this portable manual to help us sort out our assessments and evaluations into the accurate coding and leveling criteria that supports what we do, what we observe, and allows for the appropriate revenue to support the levels of care our patients require. As OASIS data-gathering evolves, newer editions will be needed to keep up with the miriad of changes that will ensue, but at least here is a standard we can all make good use of, and I am willing to bet every nurse, from novice to manager, will find something in this manual that was not known or delineated as well to them in the past.
This manual would also make a wonderful teaching tool for nursing students. They may as well learn early on how intricate the data-gathering tools are in the real working world. Accurate notations on the OASIS forms can either make or break a case, not only regarding reimbursement, but as to whether the levels of care, and variety of disciplines, that you feel are needed, are allowed to provide services to your patient. Hasty and inaccurate translation of evaluations and assessments onto the OASIS forms results in inability to justify to Medicare that the levels of intervention you are requesting are appropriate.
updated verision.......2005-09-29
i had the early verison and used it for making my care plan. the content is now updated and still valuable.
Home Health Standards.......2002-12-30
A MUST resource guide for all nurses who work in the Home Health industry.
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- Not just for cancer victims!
- Mandatory Reading for Brain Tumor Patients
- A New Approach, A New Attitude
- A must-read for brain tumor sufferers
- The Bible of GBM
|
Surviving Terminal Cancer: Clinical Trials, Drug Cocktails, and Other Treatments Your Oncologist Won't Tell You About
WilliamsfBenA
Manufacturer: Fairview Press
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Brain Tumors: Leaving the Garden of Eden--A Survival Guide to Diagnosis, Learning the Basics, Getting Organized, and Finding Your Medical Team
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Damn The Statistics, I Have a Life to Live!: Coping with a Brain Tumor My Personal Story
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Navigating Through a Strange Land: 2nd Edition: A Book for Brain Tumor Patients and Their Families,
ASIN: 1577491165 |
Book Description
Describes how to use the Internet and other sources to learn about experimental drug trials, effective forms of alternative medicine, and other breakthroughs with the potential for dramatically improving the odds of successful treatment.
Customer Reviews:
Not just for cancer victims!.......2007-01-12
This book was written by Dr. Williams, an eminent and widely published experimental psychologist in the field of learning theory and many other related fields. Dr. Williams was diagnosed in 1995 with a glioblastoma with, for all practical purposes, zero chance of survival. He immediately went on a quest for maximizing his chances of survival by evaluating and combining traditional and nontraditional treatment approaches. Today, in 2007, he is alive and well. This book should be of interest for anyone, even if not affected by cancer personally. I found it a remarkable account of how one can deal with catastrophic diagnoses and seemingly hopeless situations. It also critiques current FDA policies and conventional medical practice by providing a wealth of facts, literature citations, and well-developed logical arguments. There is also a very readable discussion of the statistical approach, written for a lay audience, of experimental design, and of implications for the methods for the social and medical/biological sciences. This book includes a systematic, open, thoughtful, and fair evaluation of so-called alternative treatments. The evaluation of these alternative treatments is so convincing because it was undertaken by someone like Dr. Williams, who knows the scientific approach so well. I call this book "inspirational" for anyone who has to tackle important life-and-death decisions.
Mandatory Reading for Brain Tumor Patients.......2006-11-12
The previous 5-star reviews of this book are right on target, so I mainly just want to echo their praise for this book (in addition to thanking these reviewers for steering me towards this book).
Ben Williams is a true hero for those with brain tumors, and to a large extent other cancers also. Drawing on both his own experience and his extensive review of the literature, he outlines the potentials and serious limitations of conventional medicine, while also informing readers of the vital importance of complementary medicine, especially "off-label" drugs and nutritional supplements.
He advocates a "cocktail" treatment approach which combines many agents, both conventional and unconventional, to simultaneously target multiple cancer mechanisms. This approach is gradually becoming accepted as the best approach, although this is happening far too slowly because of the many problems with how conventional medicine is organized. As a result, you are likely to encounter resistance from your doctors, and perhaps even family members, so be prepared to be very persistent.
If you or someone you care about has been diagnosed with GBM or another type of brain tumor, this should be the first book you read, and you should do so as quickly as your circumstances allow. However, even before you do that, be sure to read Ben's annual update entitled "Treatment Options for Glioblastoma and other Gliomas," which is available online at no cost at the Virtual Trials website.
Also be sure to look up the related and valuable work of Jeanne Wallace (see her Nutritional Solutions website) and John Boik (see the Oregon Medical Press website). Also have a look at my website, which can be found by Googling "brain tumor treatment" and "Alvi".
Good luck and best wishes!
A New Approach, A New Attitude.......2006-09-05
I found this book inspirationally. Not because the author beat the odds in surviving a cancer considered "terminal" by all of his physicians, but because he did it by rationally setting out to explore all of his options and did not just let the "experts" tell him what to do.
The most important lesson from this book for those of us exploring cancer/tumor treatment options is that we have to research beyond what we are likely to hear from our medical specialists. Each of them will have their particular bias (e.g., surgeons tend to want to cut things out, oncologists will tend towards other strategies).
Moreover, as the author points out, the range of treatments the medical specialists are willing to recommend are sharply limited by custom to things that have passed the FDA-mandated stage III clinical trials. Many very promising treatments have only passed stage II trials; and because of cost, never go beyond that. Nor do medical specialists in the U.S. look at successful treatments that are well-accepted by the medical specialists in other countries.
And while this book does discuss "alternative" medicine, that is not the focus. The author does evaluate some "alternative" medical approaches, debunking several of them but also notes where medical science has validated some of them.
Another critical point the author makes is that treating cancer should be like treating AIDs. Because of the probabilistic nature of any single treatment successfully eradicating a cancer, a "cocktail-style" drug regiment has the best chance of succeeding. He makes a powerful and convincing argument that this one change in approach could make a huge difference in reducing the recurrence of cancer and boosting the effectiveness of current treatments.
One more key insight of the author: the large pharmaceutical companies have no financial incentive to pursue promising cancer treatments that they can not patent and thereby recoup their multi-billion dollar investment. Because of that, the author believes many promising treatments are not fully explored. He is sharply critical of government policies that have not closed this gap.
CFC
A must-read for brain tumor sufferers.......2006-07-09
Dr. Williams' book is a blow by blow record of how he guided his own survival in spite of his doctors and the constraints of the FDA in overcoming a glioblastoma. His program was well-researched and gives excellent suggestions for options in taking an active part in one's own survival. Should be read by all cancer patients, particularly those suffering with brain tumors. He also published an annual online update of the information contained in the book.
The Bible of GBM.......2006-03-22
I bought this book when my dad was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) in late 2005. At first I was skeptical of his harsh criticism of the medical institution as a whole, but as my dad's surgery, chemo and radiation went on, I realized how 100% RIGHT ON Dr. Williams is in this book. You MUST buy this if you know someone suffering from this agressive form of brain cancer. Our family purchased three copies so each of us could have their own for reference. If you don't buy any other book about GBM, buy this one. Dr. Williams has survived ELEVEN years from diagnosis with a type of brain cancer that has an average survival time of 14 months.
Book Description
With The Measure of Our Days, Dr. Jerome Groopman established himself as an eloquent new voice in the literature of medicine. In these eight moving portraits, he offers us a compelling look at what is to be learned when life itself can no longer be taken for granted.
These stories are diverse--from Kirk, an aggressive venture capitalist determined to play the odds with controversial chemotherapy treatments; to Elizabeth, an imperious dowager humbled by a rare blood disease; to Elliott, who triumphs over leukemia and creates for himself a definition of success--but each, in the words of Maggie Scarf, "transmute the misery of terrible suffering into a marvelous celebration of the sweetness of human life." Far from medical case studies, these are spiritual journeys of questioning and self-awareness, embarked on by the physician as well as the patient.
Customer Reviews:
Touching and thought-provoking.......2007-07-07
As a nurse who has worked in Oncology, I have found this book very interesting and thought-provoking. It brought back many memories of patients and similar situations. Could anyone ask for a physician any more compassionate than Dr. Groopman? Something for all in the medical field to strive for.
The most touching book on relationships between a good doctor and his patients..........2007-04-14
I don't remember why or where I bought this book. I think it came highly recommended to me, as I have worked in HIV research and bioethics for the disabled for years, not as a job, but because it is what I care about. I think I accidently put this book up to sell, thinking it was another book on these same issues I had read years ago. When I got it out to send to another reader, I realized I hadn't read it. I can read quite fast when necessary and after the first few pages in this book, I realized I did not want to send it until I had read the whole thing. So I read it in one evening, and I am so glad I did.
After just undergoing a horrendous couple of years with my own personal physician who threw medication at me in hopes something would help (and he just made things worse), I needed to be reminded there are outstanding and wonderful physicians out there still who see their work not as a way to make money but a way to make a living and provide for their families while still doing the most they can for humanity. I'd read Groopman's work before. He is a very prolific writer, as well as a physician and researcher into HIV and cancer. I don't know how he does it. The man must not sleep ever, and that also earns my admiration. His patients are not easy ones. They are the more difficult ones, and he see his job as being to give them the most time he can possibly squeeze out of their conditions. And that time he gives them, he makes them as comfortable as possible and as able to continue their life's work...this is what is meant by providing people with chronic illness and even illness whose end result is death with a quality of life equal to that, or better than that, than the life they had lived before. Why? Because they know their time is limited, and they seek to fill their remaining time with the most they can stuff into it. EAch of these individuals have different ideas of what constitutes a meaningful life, and each of them learn something from Groopman during their time under his care, and their stories not only taught Groopman something, but in this book they teach the reader something.
I'd always been one of those people who didn't want to undergo chemotherapy for a cancer that would end in death anyhow. But now I understand from Groopman why you would prolong your time here, as long as it could be done in such a way as to achieve my goals and those for my family and friends, and give something back to others as I have always wanted to do (but often had to put to the side while I raised my family).
This is one of the most compassionate books I have ever read. I hate to send it away but at the same time, I want others to read it. It teaches us to put into practice our religious beliefs rather than just spout them. It isn't enough to say 'this is what I believe.' Groopman teaches us that we can put our religious beliefs into daily practice and do the most good by doing that. I would definitely recommend this book as required reading for all students in all medical fields, even research...as we too often lose sight of the very human faces that we are researching for. By putting a human face on these usually unseen people it forces us to work harder and with more focus on moral behavior, whether as researchers, or as medical personnel in daily contact with those who are suffering. Our job is not to judge, but rather to alleviate suffering... Groopman is an outstanding example to all of us, and I hope to incorporate his teachings in my own life and my own work...
Karen L. Sadler
Departing into darkness.......2006-06-27
If Sherwin Nuland hadn't already written "The Way We Die," Jerome Groopman could easily have used the title for this book. Dr. Groopman specializes in cancer, blood-disease, and AIDs patients, so he is very familiar with the way we die. His emphasis in this book is more on the spiritual aspect of dying, although there is also plenty of physical agony and degradation in "The Measure of Our Days."
If I had to sum up the book's theme, it would be: patients who love and are loved struggle hardest to live, sometimes way beyond the point where physicians have given up on them. When they finally do die, their deaths are more fulfilling (easier? better?) than those who die with full wallets and empty hearts.
That sounds kind of hokey, like "Love Story" as written by a doctor, but Dr. Groopman handles the theme very effectively. He's even slightly more optimistic than in his book "Second Opinions," although no one in "The Measure of Our Days" dies as romantically as Ali McGraw. Just the opposite. Most of Dr. Groopman's patients in this book die after extensive chemotherapy, surgery, and physical therapy--the whole painful and nauseous armamentarium of modern medicine (If it hasn't yet struck you how closely physicians resemble the monks of the Spanish Inquisition, you've probably never undergone chemotherapy. Both wield their instruments for our own good).
"The Measure of Our Days" speaks like a modern day Koheleth (Ecclesiastes):
"A man may have a hundred children and live a long life; but however many his days may be, if he does not get satisfaction from the good things of life..., then I maintain that the still-born child is in better case than he. Its coming is an empty thing, it departs into darkness, and in darkness its name is hidden..."
Change 'get satisfaction from the good things of life' to 'love' and I believe you will understand Dr. Groopman's measure of our days.
inspiring tales of truth and human dignity.......2006-05-10
An excellent book of choice for anyone looking to find meaning in the field of health care, who feels swept away by torrents of robotic practices of academic medicine and scientific prejudices.
The Measure of our Compassion through the measure of our days.......2005-12-05
It takes a special person to care for others. Compassion for people comes in different ways and Groopman finds an excellent way to blend both: medicine the way we know it and kind and considerate way to offer care and hope.
This book is a great reading for anyone.
Highly recommended!
Book Description
This user-friendly guide offers you practical, direct answers for the difficult and little-taught questions that arise when providing care for the dying.
Features:
* Perspectives of patients, families, and other health care professionals, as well as physicians
* Solution-oriented coverage on preparing patients, managing symptoms, and handling legal/ethical issues near the end of life
Book Description
Critical Care Paramedic is the first and only book written for the expanding field of critical care transport. Utilizing the successful format of Brady’s best-selling Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, this book is both written and extensively reviewed by leading experts in the field.
This comprehensive book addresses all aspects of critical care transport including: operations, safety, advanced pharmacodynamics, advanced physiologic monitoring, advanced airway management, medical emergencies, trauma emergencies, organ donation, and other important areas of critical care.
Critical Care Paramedic will be the industry standard for critical care paramedic education and available only from Brady.
Customer Reviews:
only one.......2007-09-29
only one out there for now and required, but it leaves a lot of gaps, especially in a&p. overall good text, but will not be sufficient by itself if you truly want to understand.
textbook.......2007-01-16
Way cheaper than in a college bookstore, or any bookstore for that matter. My husband was apprehensive about buying a book this way, but he was very pleased.
Great book, just doesn't successfully meet its intentions........2007-01-03
This book was recently used as the primary text for my CCEMT-P course. While I believe this is a well written book, I feel it should be more appropriately used as a pre-course introduction to critical care in the pre-hospital and out-of-hospital setting, or as a tool to put nursing critical care textbooks into the EMS perspective. I feel this is a great book for any EMS provider to own and will gladly add it to my library instead of reselling it, I just feel that it poorly meets its intended purpose as a primary text for pre-hospital providers attending a critical care course.
A Fantastic Text.......2006-08-17
I have to say Brady Publishing and Dr. Bledsoe has done it again. An excellent textbook covering the topic of Critical Care Paramedicine. My favorite chapter is Altitude Physiology authored by prehospital critical care pioneers Larry Johnson and Bryan Bledsoe. After reading many textbooks on this subject (which pales in comparison) I have found that this particular chapter very complete and comprehensive. I highly recommend this text for any individual who is interested in pursuing a career in prehospital critical care.
Book Description
This new book outlines key subject matter for long term care activity professionals already working in the field. Thoroughly researched and referenced, this book will provide a comprehensive understanding of all relevent information needed by activity professionals in long term care situations. .
Customer Reviews:
i needed it for class.......2006-03-21
I bought this book because I had to have it for school,
it is full of infromation on activities from history to the
future. it is a must have for anyone in the health care profession
More than the essentials.......2001-07-17
Essentials for the Activity Professional in Long Term Care turned out to be much more than just the essentials. The book is well thought out, and goes into detail when it is needed. I believe that it would be valuable to both the seasoned long term care manager, as well as those new to the field. I particularly liked the "Key Terms" and "Objectives" at the beginning of each chapter, which was great for quickly seeing what REALLY is included in a chapter, which is often difficult to tell in textbooks just from the chapter title. The book also includes facsimiles of actual forms in the documentation section, and there is nothing quite like seeing the real thing. A very well rounded look at long term care. Lots of pictures and charts keep things moving along, and there are self-assessment exams. I would recommend this book to anyone in long term care, regardless of their position.
Customer Reviews:
Family reading.......2007-06-09
This booklet is must reading for the elderly and members of their family. Presented in an easy to read format and style by a nursing home chaplain, it contains easy to understand medical information from a spiritual viewpoint. Don't wait for an illness to prompt you into reading this valuable booklet.
Helpful for all ages.......2007-03-27
This little book is a must for all adult people. It addresses the serious question of what would you want done if you became mortally ill, were in an accident or in a coma and otherwise would not be able to speak for yourself. The frank, but gentle, theme of this book helps one to think about their own desires in these cases. One may think that it is only for "old people", but I think it is an important thing for each adult to consider carefully and let loved ones and your doctor know of your wishes. I would highly recommend this book for all adults.
Hard Choices for Loving People - Hank Dunn.......2007-03-24
This amazing little book, "Hard Choices for Loving People", is one of the best gifts you could ever give a patient and family who are facing these important end-of-life choices. Mr. Dunn says it so clearly, objectively, and compassionately that so much of the fear and pain of the decision is removed. I am a geriatric nursing leader of 43 years and have felt fortunate to have found this fine book in the early 1990s. I have shared it with many healthcare organizations and providers in California...from acute care to hospice, home health, Long-Term care, and now my church ! Thank you Mr. Dunn. Saundra Jack, RN MSN
practical help for loving families.......2006-07-24
I am a clinical chaplain, and a rehab chaplain at a large
city hospital.
I see many families who are trying to help their loved ones
make good medical decisions. This book is a great aid for
them , to help them sort out feelings and goals about
medical treatments. you can tell the author has vast experience
with the sick and their families, I heartily recommend
this book for all those who are caring for the sick
or have an elderly member of their family who is sick.
thanks to a great author Hank Dunn
rev. james barry cp
clinical chaplain, lutheran gen hospital,
Superb - plus also available free.......2005-04-20
I am a health care lawyer sometimes tasked with helping people face difficult end of life issues. This is the most sensitive and lovingly realsitic book of its kind that I've seen -- and there are many other good ones out there. Pssst -- you also can get it through a free pdf download at www.hardchoices.com . The booklet is prettier, but whatever the format, it's a vital read. I've always recommended it to clients, but my own family used it to open up hearts and minds -- and settle an ugly dispute between my mother and one of her brothers -- when my grandfather was dying of Alzheimer's. Hank Dunn's work is a God send.
Books:
- Fishermen's Sweaters: Twenty Exclusive Knitwear Designs for All Generations
- Four to Score (Stephanie Plum Novels)
- From Panic to Power: Proven Techniques to Calm Your Anxieties, Conquer Your Fears, and Put You in Control of Your Life
- Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer, 5th Edition
- Get Out of That Pit: Straight Talk about God's Deliverance
- Halo, Books 1-3 (The Flood; First Strike; The Fall of Reach)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Books Index
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