M. D. Rosenberg - Overcome the Challenges of Cancer Care: How to Avoid Pitfalls on the Path to Healing

Overcome the Challenges
of Cancer Care

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD

Lanham Boulder New York London

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Stephen Rosenberg

Title: Overcome the challenges of cancer care : How to avoid pitfalls on the path to healing

Description: Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield [2020] / Includes bibliographical references and index. / Summary: "A friendly, easy-to-read guide for cancer patients and their loved ones when dealing with a cancer diagnosis. This book will help patients, loved ones, friends and family recognize the pitfalls of a cancer diagnosis and how to avoid them to get the best care possible during their cancer journey." --Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019051825 (print) / LCCN 2019051826 (ebook) / ISBN 9781538134221 (cloth) / ISBN 9781538134238 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Cancer--Patients--Care. / Cancer--Patients--Rehabilitation. / Cancer--Treatment.

Classification: LCC RC262.R655 2020 (print) / LCC RC262 (ebook) / DDC 616.99/4--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019051825

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019051826

TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

For my wife, Katie

son, Jonathan

daughter, Emily

parents, Allen and Dorothy

and everyone touched by cancer

Early in my medical training, I tried to direct patients to resources about cancer. The books patients found were, overwhelming, poorly written or just plain false. As patients went online, they found a mix of half-truths and false promises.

I did my best to educate my patients in clinic. But even with an hour-long patient visit, I didnt feel like I could convey everything I needed to. I wrote this book because I was distraught by the lack of quality information available to patients. The goal of this book is to fill in the who, what, when, where, and why of cancer in an easy-to-read format.

Weve all been touched by cancera spouse, a brother, a mother, a sister, a friend, or even ourselves. Each year in the United States, there are about 1.7 million new cancer cases and about 600,000 deaths from cancer. It is the second most common cause of death in the United States, behind only heart disease. Cancer plays some role in almost everyones life, so I hope to shed light on this common but devastating disease.

Some books examine every nuance of cancer for hundreds of pages. Wading through the sea of information can bring shock and panic to patients and loved ones. Thats why this book is not comprehensive. I only briefly touch on individual cancers. Instead, I focus on the processes and treatment of cancer as a whole. I want to make sure you or your loved ones dont miss the forest for the trees.

I hope you find this book useful and informative. I would love to hear your thoughts on the book.

Warm regards,

Stephen Rosenberg, MD

stephen.rosenberg.md@gmail.com

You have cancer.

When people hear these words, theyre at a loss. How could this happen? What do I do now? Where do I begin? These are only some of the questions patients, family members, and others have.

The average person has a limited view of what cancer is, how it grows, and how we treat it. People hear things about cancer on TV, read about it in books, and see people deal with it in movies. Many of us even donate time and money to cancer research. But we often talk about cancer in a superficial sense. We rarely dive into what it means to have cancer or how to deal with it.

Maybe we hear about a friend or family member who has cancer: Uncle Bob has prostate cancer or Aunt Susan has breast cancer. We think, Thats too bad. Maybe, in the quiet and privacy of our homes, we Google the word cancer. The amount of information overloads us. (By the way, if you do Google the word cancer, you get over half a billion results.)

Taking in a diagnosis while wading through this information is overwhelming.

As you work through information online and in books from doctors, healers, salespeople, and anyone in between, the picture only gets cloudier. Worse yet, there are a lot of false promises and poorly written materials out there. Some people try to exploit patients, families, and friends affected by cancer.

I hope this book serves as a guidea flashlight in the darkness of cancer information. I want to arm you with information on cancer in an easy-to-understand format.

Well start with the cancer cell, describe diagnosis, and go over the types of common treatments: surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy. Well then move on to managing side effects, incorporating complementary care, and making lifestyle changes. Throughout the book, I also outline how to overcome the ten most common mistakes I see patients and families make as they go through this process.

At the end, Ive included a glossary, where you can find definitions of terms, and a list of additional resources. Please also visit my website at stephenrosenbergmd.com where Ive included patient resources, such as templates for doctors appointments with questions to ask along with other helpful lists. I want you to have everything you or family members may need to navigate the journey of cancer.

This book isnt a comprehensive course on cancer, as there are many types of cancer. In fact, you can find entire textbooks devoted to breast cancer, prostate cancer, or many other types of cancer!

Many of these books drag patients down into the details of cancer without giving them the big picturethe Where is this going? My goal is to provide an overview of cancer. I want you to understand how cancer grows, how we treat it, and how to move forward.