Product Description

All long-term illnesses, whatever their diagnosis, have much in common. The difficulties and challenges that come with illness, and the strategies to overcome them, are shared by most patients. Managing an illness effectively and tackling the difficulties it causes can greatly improve how you feel and your quality of life. This book identifies the challenges posed by illness and suggests a wide variety of ways in which you might meet them. Key to this is the idea of becoming expert in managing your own illness and learning how best to deal with it. The authors accept that you know more than them about how you experience it, so that rather than telling you what to do, they offer a tool box from which you may pick the strategies that best suit you. The two authors, one a person with a long-term illness and one a doctor, combine their expertise and experience to offer a practical and comprehensive guide along your own unique journey. If you have a long-term illness, or if you care for someone who does, then this is a book for you.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42605 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 218 pages

Review
A fine book recommended read for people with long-term illness and their carers. This is an easy-to-read book. I will be recommending it to others and adding to the "really useful book" list I keep for patients in my general practice. (BMA Medical Book Competition 2007 )

This is a well-written and comprehensive self-help guide...packed with useful, practical, sensible information that must be of benefit to anyone with a long-term illness. (Roger Woodruff, Director of Palliative Care, Austin Health, Melbourne, Australia )

... it provides a solid framework through which to approach living with a long-term condition. ... If you are genuinely wanting to discover ways of helping yourself and helping others to help you more effectively, then this is a good place to begin. (Ehlers-Danlos Support Group Newsletter )

The problems of long-term illness or chronic pain are difficult to live with not just for the patient but close relatives, friends and carers too. This book is written with great understanding. (Osteoporosis News )

Customer Reviews

An excellent and long awaited "toolkit"
This book is necessary reading for anyone diagnosed with chronic illness and their family / carers. It gives the reader honest personal accounts of the problems encountered when living with chronic illness as well as sensible, structured strategies to help all those involved maintain a healthy approach to their lives. The chapter on the relationship between the patient and their doctor is particularly insightful.The co-writers offer the reader comprhensive discussion and advice from both the personal and medical angle increasing the knowledge and understanding of the demands chronic illness places on the individual and all those involved in their care. An excellent and long awaited "toolkit"

a book to comfort and inform
"As someone who has lived with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME for over 15 years, I found Frankie Campling and Michael Sharpes's book 'Living with a long term illness: the facts' both informative and practical. However their greatest achievement is that I found it comforting - like having a sensible and kind friend to provide reassurance and support.

Self-help at its best
I stumbled across this book and, as someone who works with people with long-term conditions, I am very pleased that I did. 30 chapters in less than 200 pages means that it covers a lot without being long-winded. I cannot think of anything that is not covered and every chapter gives pointers towards further resources. While there will be chapters that do not apply to all of the people all of the time, I am sure that anyone who is living with a long-term illness will find chapters that are useful to them.

The book is the result of a collaboration between a person with a long-term illness (Frankie Campling) and a doctor / academic (Michael Sharpe). It reflects the teamwork that is needed if people with long-term illnesses are to maintain / improve their health and quality of life. I would strongly recommend this book to all health professionals who work in this vast and important field.