Cancer S Best Medicine

Some people suffer from chronic, debilitating disorders for which no conventional treatment brings relief. Can marijuana ease their symptoms? Would it be breaking the law to turn to marijuana as a medication? There are few sources of objective, scientifically sound advice for people in this situation. Most books about marijuana and medicine attempt to promote the views of advocates or opponents. To fill the gap between these extremes, authors Alison Mack and Janet Joy have extracted critical findings from a recent Institute of Medicine study on this important issue, interpreting them for a general audience. Marijuana As Medicine? provides patientsâ€"as well as the people who care for themâ€"with a foundation for making decisions about their own health care. This empowering volume examines several key points, including: Whether marijuana can relieve a variety of symptoms, including pain, muscle spasticity, nausea, and appetite loss. The dangers of smoking marijuana, as well as the effects of its active chemical components on the immune system and on psychological health. The potential use of marijuana-based medications on symptoms of AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and several other specific disorders, in comparison with existing treatments. Marijuana As Medicine? introduces readers to the active compounds in marijuana. These include the principal ingredient in Marinol, a legal medication. The authors also discuss the prospects for developing other drugs derived from marijuana's active ingredients. In addition to providing an up-to-date review of the science behind the medical marijuana debate, Mack and Joy also answer common questions about the legal status of marijuana, explaining the conflict between state and federal law regarding its medical use. Intended primarily as an aid to patients and caregivers, this book objectively presents critical information so that it can be used to make responsible health care decisions. Marijuana As Medicine? will also be a valuable resource for policymakers, health care providers, patient counselors, medical faculty and studentsâ€"in short, anyone who wants to learn more about this important issue.

Developed by the American Cancer Society this new textbook designed for a wide range of learners and practitioners is a comprehensive reference covering the diagnosis of cancer, and a range of related issues that are key to a multidisciplinary approach to cancer and critical to cancer control and may be used in conjunction with the book, The American Cancer Society's Oncology in Practice: Clinical Management. Edited by leading clinicians in the field and a stellar contributor list from the US and Europe, this book is written in an easy to understand style by multidisciplinary teams of medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and other specialists, reflecting day-to-day decision-making and clinical practice. Input from pathologists, surgeons, radiologists, and other specialists is included wherever relevant and comprehensive treatment guidelines are provided by expert contributors where there is no standard recognized treatment. This book is an ideal resource for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of cancer prevention, screening, and follow-up, which are central to the ACS's worldwide mission on cancer control.

More than one-hundred years ago researchers discovered that cancer is not a tumor; instead, cancer is the PROCESS that causes a tumor -- and removing the tumor does not remove the cancer. Cancers Best Medicine looks carefully at the nature of that PROCESS, and explores what we as individuals can do to disrupt it. Cancer is a metabolic illness, and its very important to understand that this disease is closely linked to diet and lifestyle -- as this booklet so clearly notes. It contains a recipe section, an index, illustrations, and a bibliography. Read it and discover a wealth of information to help you unleash the healing power of your body

Adjuvant treatment is administered prior to or as follow up to surgical procedures for breast cancer. Proven success in using medical therapies allowing for breast conserving procedures or reducing risk of occurrence. Although there has been much progress towards a cure, including the introduction of new targeted therapies, metastasizing cancer remains highly incurable.

A critical resource for anyone with a cancer diagnosis. Written by a radiation oncologist and cancer researcher, Taking Charge of Cancer offers an insider’s guide to understanding and receiving the best treatment options, choosing the right medical team, and approaching this difficult time with knowledge and hope. Receiving a cancer diagnosis can be terrifying, and the first thing you probably want to know is: How am I going to survive this? Cancer care requires decisions from numerous professionals, delivering treatments that are potentially life-saving, but also potentially dangerous and life-threatening. The chances of cure and survival for any given patient depend on the expertise of the cancer team, and whether procedures are in place to ensure that cancer care is delivered properly. So, how can you make sure you choose the right treatment team and ensure the best chances of survival and long-term health after being diagnosed with cancer? Taking Charge of Cancer is a different type of book for cancer patients—one that goes beyond the cancer information that is currently available, allowing you to truly take control of your cancer treatment. You’ll learn how to obtain and understand medical records, and why these records are critical to your care. You’ll also find the tools you’ll need to determine if the recommendations made by doctors are in keeping with accepted treatment guidelines. You’ll discover how doctors use evidence to decide which treatments are best, as well as how doctors can become biased in their recommendations. And, most importantly, you’ll be able to evaluate whether surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy make the most sense in your specific case—and whether or not these serious treatments are being delivered effectively and safely according to the highest standards. Now that you’ve received a cancer diagnosis, it’s time to set a plan in motion for your recovery. This book will help you do just that—every step of the way.

Holland-Frei Cancer Medicine, Ninth Edition, offers a balanced view of the most current knowledge of cancer science and clinical oncology practice. This all-new edition is the consummate reference source for medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, internists, surgical oncologists, and others who treat cancer patients. A translational perspective throughout, integrating cancer biology with cancer management providing an in depth understanding of the disease An emphasis on multidisciplinary, research-driven patient care to improve outcomes and optimal use of all appropriate therapies Cutting-edge coverage of personalized cancer care, including molecular diagnostics and therapeutics Concise, readable, clinically relevant text with algorithms, guidelines and insight into the use of both conventional and novel drugs Includes free access to the Wiley Digital Edition providing search across the book, the full reference list with web links, illustrations and photographs, and post-publication updates

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The story of modern medicine and bioethics—and, indeed, race relations—is refracted beautifully, and movingly.”—Entertainment Weekly NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM HBO® STARRING OPRAH WINFREY AND ROSE BYRNE • ONE OF THE “MOST INFLUENTIAL” (CNN), “DEFINING” (LITHUB), AND “BEST” (THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER) BOOKS OF THE DECADE • ONE OF ESSENCE’S 50 MOST IMPACTFUL BLACK BOOKS OF THE PAST 50 YEARS • WINNER OF THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE HEARTLAND PRIZE FOR NONFICTION NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • Entertainment Weekly • O: The Oprah Magazine • NPR • Financial Times • New York • Independent (U.K.) • Times (U.K.) • Publishers Weekly • Library Journal • Kirkus Reviews • Booklist • Globe and Mail Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine: The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, which are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave. Henrietta’s family did not learn of her “immortality” until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family—past and present—is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of. Over the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family—especially Henrietta’s daughter Deborah. Deborah was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Had they killed her to harvest her cells? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn’t her children afford health insurance? Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.

Experts estimate that as many as 98,000 people die in any given year from medical errors that occur in hospitals. That's more than die from motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer, or AIDSâ€"three causes that receive far more public attention. Indeed, more people die annually from medication errors than from workplace injuries. Add the financial cost to the human tragedy, and medical error easily rises to the top ranks of urgent, widespread public problems. To Err Is Human breaks the silence that has surrounded medical errors and their consequenceâ€"but not by pointing fingers at caring health care professionals who make honest mistakes. After all, to err is human. Instead, this book sets forth a national agendaâ€"with state and local implicationsâ€"for reducing medical errors and improving patient safety through the design of a safer health system. This volume reveals the often startling statistics of medical error and the disparity between the incidence of error and public perception of it, given many patients' expectations that the medical profession always performs perfectly. A careful examination is made of how the surrounding forces of legislation, regulation, and market activity influence the quality of care provided by health care organizations and then looks at their handling of medical mistakes. Using a detailed case study, the book reviews the current understanding of why these mistakes happen. A key theme is that legitimate liability concerns discourage reporting of errorsâ€"which begs the question, "How can we learn from our mistakes?" Balancing regulatory versus market-based initiatives and public versus private efforts, the Institute of Medicine presents wide-ranging recommendations for improving patient safety, in the areas of leadership, improved data collection and analysis, and development of effective systems at the level of direct patient care. To Err Is Human asserts that the problem is not bad people in health careâ€"it is that good people are working in bad systems that need to be made safer. Comprehensive and straightforward, this book offers a clear prescription for raising the level of patient safety in American health care. It also explains how patients themselves can influence the quality of care that they receive once they check into the hospital. This book will be vitally important to federal, state, and local health policy makers and regulators, health professional licensing officials, hospital administrators, medical educators and students, health caregivers, health journalists, patient advocatesâ€"as well as patients themselves. First in a series of publications from the Quality of Health Care in America, a project initiated by the Institute of Medicine