An invaluable resource for medical professionals, victims of chronic illnesses, and their loved ones, this dual memoir by a doctor and his longtime patient traces the growth of their unique friendship over a span of decades. By exploring the bond between caregiver and sufferer, this sensitive account evokes not only the constant day to day frustrations and emotional toll suffered by the chronically ill, but also an understanding of the mental struggles and conflicts that a conscientious do...

An invaluable resource for medical professionals, victims of chronic illnesses, and their loved ones, this dual memoir by a doctor and his longtime patient traces the growth of their unique friendship over a span of decades. By exploring the bond between caregiver and sufferer, this sensitive account evokes not only the constant day to day frustrations and emotional toll suffered by the chronically ill, but also an understanding of the mental struggles and conflicts that a conscientious do...

"This splendid volume is easily understandable, uses real-life situations as examples and is far more up-to-the-minute than other such books. From sexuality to surgery, it offers practical and science-based advice."--Charles M. Plotz, M.D., Editor-in-Chief, Rheuma21st.comYour complete guide to understanding and living well with rheumatoid arthritisIf you or someone close to you suffers from rheumatoid arthritis (RA), this book is a powerful tool you don't want to be without...

Doctors, patients, investigators, administrators, and policymakers who assign diagnoses assume three elements: the name describes an entity with conceptual or evidentiary boundaries, the person setting the name has a high degree of certainty, and the name has a consensus definition. This book challenges this practice and offers an alternative to assigning diagnoses: quantitating diagnostic uncertainty in personal and public medical plans.This book offers the stakeholders' views par...

This new edition is a comprehensive and updated resource on antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), which is an autoimmune disorder. In APS, the body recognizes certain normal components of blood and/or cell membranes as foreign substances and produces antibodies (antiphospholipid antibodies) against them. APS is associated with recurrent clotting events (thrombosis) including premature stroke, repeated miscarriages, phlebitis, venous thrombosis, and pulmonary thromboembolism. It is also associat...

**#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • OVER TWO MILLION COPIES SOLDThis inspiring, exquisitely observed memoir finds hope and beauty in the face of insurmountable odds as an idealistic young neurosurgeon attempts to answer the question, What makes a life worth living?**“Unmissable . . . Finishing this book and then forgetting about it is simply not an option.”—Janet Maslin, The New York TimesONE...

An international bestseller and National Book Award winner, Sherwin B. Nuland’s How We Die has become the definitive text on perhaps the single most universal human concern: death. This new edition includes an incisive afterword that examines the current state of health care and our relationship with life as it approaches its terminus. It also discusses how we can take control of our own final days and those of our loved ones. Nuland’s masterful How We Die has become a mo...

A look at the emotional side of medicine—the shame, fear, anger, anxiety, empathy, and even love that affect patient carePhysicians are assumed to be objective, rational beings, easily able to detach as they guide patients and families through some of life’s most challenging moments. But doctors’ emotional responses to the life-and-death dramas of everyday practice have a profound impact on medical care. And while much has been written about the minds and methods o...

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Shift comes a frank look at navigating the world of healthcare as a cancer nurse becomes a patient and experiences the system from the other side.Despite her training and years of experience as an oncology and hospice nurse, Brown finds it difficult to navigate the medical maze from the other side of the bed. Why is she so often left in the dark about procedures and treatments? Why is she expected ...

For any woman who has experienced illness, chronic pain, or endometriosis comes an inspiring memoir advocating for recognition of women's health issuesIn the fall of 2010, Abby Norman's strong dancer's body dropped forty pounds and gray hairs began to sprout from her temples. She was repeatedly hospitalized in excruciating pain, but the doctors insisted it was a urinary tract infection and sent her home with antibiotics. Unable to get out of bed, much less attend c...

Can refocusing conversations between doctors and their patients lead to better health?Despite modern medicine’s infatuation with high-tech gadgetry, the single most powerful diagnostic tool is the doctor-patient conversation, which can uncover the lion’s share of illnesses. However, what patients say and what doctors hear are often two vastly different things.Patients, anxious to convey their symptoms, feel an urgency to “make their case” to their doctors. ...

For readers of Being Mortal and Modern Death, an ICU and Palliative Care specialist offers a framework for a better way to exit life that will change our medical culture at the deepest levelIn medical school, no one teaches you how to let a patient die.Jessica Zitter became a doctor because she wanted to be a hero. She elected to specialize in critical care—to become an ICU physician—and imagined herself swooping in to rescue patients from...