Product Description

The Royal Society of Medicine Your Guide to Bowel Cancer is the patient's ultimate tool to understanding their illness, discovering invaluable advice, and empowering them to make informed choices and to regain control of their life.
Written by the top UK expert in this field, this is an easy-to-read guide to bowel cancer - most importantly explaining how to recognise the symptoms and seek treatment for this eminently curable but little-discussed condition. The book explains the structure of the bowel and the nature of cancer, before outlining what the symptoms are and when to go and seek help. It will then accompany the patient and carer every step of the way, through different treatment and surgical options all the way to after-care and rehabilitation. Fully endorsed and supported by the Bobby Moore Fund and Cancer Research UK, this friendly and straightforward guide gives the reassurance and information you seek when you need it the most.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #277730 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Review

"The straightforward and supportive tone, clear layourt and jargon-free style ensure that the illness is demystified, and that the reader has all the necessary information in one place."

(Professor Sir John Lilleyman, Past President of the Royal Society of Medicine )

About the Author
Professor John Northover is Consultant Surgeon for Intestinal and Colorectal Disorders, and Director of the Cancer Research UK Colorectal Cancer Unit at St Mark’s Hospital, London. An internationally recognized authority on bowel cancer, he is also a member of the Surgical Research Society and the British Society of Gastroenterology

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Customer Reviews

A review...
This book is an excellent resource for colorectal cancer patients.

Particular emphasis is placed on separating myth from fact and on answering the questions patients commonly ask.

With clear headings, coloured `key terms' boxes, explanatory diagrams and photographic illustrations, the format is easy on the eye.

The book is comprehensive yet still manages to remain concise; chapters include:

* The bowel: what it is and what it does
* What is cancer?
* The causes of bowel cancer
* Prevention and screening in bowel cancer
* The symptoms of bowel cancer and when to go to the doctor
* Seeking medical help
* Surgery for bowel cancer
* Other treatments: radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy,
* After-care

A full glossary and signposts to other sources of information / help are also featured.

Put simply, this reader-friendly book tells you exactly what you need to know!

A detailed analysis of bowel cancer written in plain, readable English
This is essential reading for those who have been diagnosed with bowel cancer and their supporters (family & friends). It should enable them all to hold open discussions on the condition and the options for future treatment.......and with medical science advancing at such a pace, it is helpful to be informed for these conversations.

Firstly, the authors should receive the Clarity Mark from the Plain English Campaign for the way in which they have created a very readable book from detailed medical information:
1. It is written with clarity in a straightforward manner, that makes it easy to understand (and which demonstrates that real experts do not need to use long and complex sentences to explain their subject)
2. Each medical term is written in bold and defined on the page on which it is first used............so you can see the context immediately, without a need to refer to the Glossary at the back of the book (which is still there, should you need it).
3. Every few pages there are examples headed `My Experience' as case studies to show what's happening today in the real world. These are supported by details called `myth' and `fact' that demonstrate how far medical science has advanced (which, in terms of bowel cancer, for many people is far from the `death sentence' that it was 10-15 years ago)

When I was first diagnosed with colon cancer, everyone said to me "you are a positive person, Iain, you will fight back and win against this"............well intentioned advice to be sure, but somehow it was advice in a vacuum.........what does `fight' mean when the `enemy' is a disease? How can you fight something that you can't see?

Summary: The first requirement when drama strikes, of course, is knowledge............and that's where this book helped me very much..........through better understanding of what had happened, I was able to handle much better the discussions with my supporters..........and with well-wishers who did not quite know what to say........most of all, it helped us to start to prioritise the decisions for the future.............