Confronting Cancer

From the moment of diagnosis, the cancer patient embarks on a journey that can prove both daunting and overwhelming. Fears and choices abound, along with the need to understand the nature and ramifications of the specific illness. Having witnessed this devastating predicament among countless patients in his own extensive practice as a cancer specialist, Dr. Michael Sherry felt compelled to write a lucid and comprehensive cancer handbook for patients and their families coping with the daily reality of the disease. Confronting Cancer: How to Care for Today and Tomorrow is a practical and readily understandable resource book that interprets the complexities of cancer for the layperson. In order to guide the patient and caregiver through the successive phases of the disease, including diagnosis, treatment, and day-to-day living, Dr. Sherry has carefully organized the book into three parts: Part One emphasizes the distinctive nature of specific cancers (such as breast, lung, skin, and colon) and explains the basic rationale for treatment; Part Two discusses orthodox and unorthodox therapies; and Part Three details common problems encountered by the patient (including getting a second opinion, frequent symptoms, and pain control). The author also includes vital information on the nature and treatment of less familiar cancers affecting bladder and kidney function, the testicular area, and "unknown primary organ." While the vast majority of the over one million cancer patients in the United States receive technically sophisticated treatments, most patients are bewildered by the intricacies of the treatment process. Confronting Cancer clearly explains major cancer treatments, including chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, bone marrow transplantation, investigational therapy, "no therapy," and the dangers of cancer quackery.