Surviving the Cancer System : An Empowering Guide to Taking Control of Your Care

As a program development director for a hospice organization, I was especially grateful for Dr. Fesen's comprehensive overview of the cancer system. His work gives ready access to professionals who work with patients and need a wide-angle lens on the subject. Despite my 25 years as a pastor, my work as a hospice chaplain, and my work as a program development director, much of what Dr. Fesen wrote about was unknown to me. Anyone wishing to gain a working knowledge on all facets of the cancer system - from pharmaceuticals, to treatment options, to participation in clinical trials, etc., - will find it here. Dr. Fesen, though a brilliant oncologist, writes in a style that anyone with serious interest and a layperson's aptitude can understand. Moreover, he exposes much that escapes detection, i.e., aspects that would typically leave the cancer patient exposed to exploitation either through ignorance or questionable decision-making in the pursuit of exotic solutions. The book is candid, useful, and thorough - not another one like it that I know of. Should be read by anyone aspiring to care-giving who has a non-medical background, and probably should be read by many of those practicing medicine as a point of accountability within the system itself. Needless to say, anyone with cancer in the family or recently diagnosed with cancer will find this book a welcome read in terms of developing a game plan/strategy for the difficult road ahead. - Mike Hambley, Program Development Director, Hospice & HomeCare of Reno County Contents......Page 8 Author’s Note......Page 10 Acknowledgments......Page 12 1 Surviving the System: You’re Fighting More Than an Illness......Page 16 2 The Sudden Cancer Panic Syndrome: Don’t Pay the High Price of Panic......Page 23 3 Your Most Important Relationship: How Your Oncologist Measures Up......Page 31 4 Cooperation and Consensus: Bonding with Your Oncology Team......Page 44 5 Understanding Cancer: It’s Not Just One Disease......Page 54 6 Major Cancer Centers: What Every Patient Should Know......Page 63 7 Insurance Angles: Making the System Work for You......Page 85 8 Chemotherapy, Radiation, Surgery: Innovations, Promises, and Pitfalls......Page 103 9 The Pharmaceutical Industry: Friend or Foe?......Page 120 10 Making Your Own Luck: Tested Ways to Improve Survival Chances......Page 134 11 Back to Your Life: When to Say “Yes” to Travel, Work, Exercise, and Sex......Page 149 12 Supportive Care Insights: How to Better Tolerate Treatment......Page 160 13 Clinical Wisdom: How I Might Do It......Page 171 14 Lymphomas, Myeloma, Leukemias, and Other Blood Cancers: Frequently Overlooked Problems......Page 211 15 The Hospice Dilemma: Why It’s Not Always the Answer......Page 227 16 Hands-On Practical Help and Public Policy Advocacy: How You Can Make a Difference for Cancer Patients......Page 239 Appendix: 50 Questions and Answers: What My Patients Ask......Page 258 Resources......Page 269 B......Page 280 C......Page 281 E......Page 282 I......Page 283 N......Page 284 P......Page 285 S......Page 286 T......Page 287 Z......Page 288 About the Author......Page 289

If you or someone you care about is facing cancer, you need to know this: You're fighting more than an illness. You're battling an impersonal and complex healthcare system where the unspoken reality is that the quality of care you receive is directly related to how knowledgeable you are as a patient.

Surviving the Cancer System can literally save your life. Written by a respected oncologist and patient advocate, this all-in-one guide takes you inside the system to reveal invaluable strategies for getting the care you need, including:

How to turn your panic into a proactive plan of action-and avoid potentially fatal delays

What to look for in an oncologist to ensure that he or she will meticulously coordinate your care and relentlessly pursue treatment options

How cancers are classified, and why some seemingly ominous prognoses, such as stage IV testicular cancer that has traveled to the brain, are actually highly treatable

Why fears of the side effects from chemotherapy and radiation are often exaggerated and can cloud your decision-making abilities

How to decide between perplexing treatment options, such as a mastectomy or a lumpectomy with radiation therapy

Nothing provokes more dread and confusion than cancer. Surviving the Cancer System arms you with the knowledge and power you need to confront the challenges ahead-from navigating an indifferent bureaucracy to weighing the value of clinical trials, and from managing costs to maximizing chances of survival.

According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 8.4 million Americans alive today have suffered from or currently suffer from cancer. Newly diagnosed patients and their loved ones are in for a long battle—not only against the disease but against a healthcare system that can be impersonal and frighteningly complicated to navigate. How can patients ensure they get the care they so desperately need? Informed patients are the best advocates for their own health—and in Surviving the Cancer System, renowned oncologist Mark Fesen arms readers with the in-depth information they need to take control of their own care. With his candid advice, patients will learn to: • choose the right team of doctors and ask the right questions • understand cancer as both a disease and a business • develop greater understanding of a cancer diagnosis and what the prognosis might be • evaluate treatment options • establish proper communication with their oncologists • prepare mentally and physically to fight the illness • get the most from their insurance coverage—and what to do if they have none At last, those coping with cancer can cut through the red tape and take charge of their own treatment—and their own health. With his candid advice, this book shows patients to learn: choose the right team of doctors and ask the right questions; understand cancer as both a disease and a business; develop greater understanding of a cancer diagnosis and what the prognosis might be; and evaluate treatment options; establish proper communication with their oncologists.