Author:Gauri Bhide, M.D.

Publisher: Fortitude Publishing House

ISBN: 978-0-9983673-0-9

With Diagnosis: Cancer!: What Happens Next?, medical oncologist and physician specializing in the treatment of primarily Boston-based cancer patients for over 20 years, Gauri Bhide, M.D., has responded to their need for an accessible guide to how to cope with the overwhelming amount of information that is made available to those who receive a diagnosis of cancer. To quell a rising note of panic is essential, Bhide has found in her own practice. Her involvement in clinical trials and her pivotal position as scientific advisor for Global-Cures, a non-profit concern that supports groundbreaking treatments in cancer care, have helped make her just the right person to author a book of this kind.

The three treatment options (surgery/chemotherapy/radiation therapy) for cancer are often offered to patients, requiring that they make life-changing decisions under the duress of a number of different factors, including time and money. The long-term nature of the disease makes it even more problematic. Diagnosis: Cancer!: What Happens Next? is aimed at facilitating such decision-taking, not only for the patient, but also for the family and friends, who are inevitably involved in supporting the process. 

Diagnosis: Cancer!: What Happens Next? is divided into seven main sections, covering: (1) understanding what cancer is; (2) the path from the recognition of symptoms to cancer diagnosis (including what the pathology report means; preparing for appointments; and staging); (3) choosing the right treatment; (4) alternative treatment and lifestyle guidance; (5) survivorship and opting not to undergo treatment; (6) the overall scenario; and (7) numerous helpful appendices (including record-keeping and evolving a master action plan). The book is well illustrated, and one knows from the very start to which section to go, as Bhide provides a flow diagram that clearly shows which chapters cover which stage of the process. The varied typography and the numerous colorful illustrations also help to make the text more accessible and livelier, encouraging further reading. Her use of case studies is also extremely encouraging, proving that she has true insight into the conditions that she describes. 

Bhide’s down-to-earth and compassionate approach makes this guide a true winner. When one feels alienated from, and vulnerable to, the inroads made by the “outside world,” a kind and sympathetic hand is always most welcome, and this is bound to be the role played by Diagnosis: Cancer!: What Happens Next? for any cancer-impacted reader beset by worry and doubt.