The Light Within: The Extraordinary Friendship of a Doctor and Patient Brought Together by Cancer

"This book is an extraordinary account of a deep friendship between a terminal cancer patient and a surgeon - the sort of thing that "is not supposed to happen." The physician allows her empathy for the dying patient to blossom into a full-blown, outside-of-the-hospital friendship including international travel together, and culminating in the writing of this book. The patient, a professor of comparative religion, maintains her zest for life and outgoing personality until the disease gets the best of her. The physician, having an undergraduate degree in comparative religion, is taken in by deep conversations and the importance of living in the present insisted on by the patient. The two form a poignant picture of caring friends, interrupted only by the disease itself. Quite a story! One of those "can't put it down" books. "
~ Written on 2008-08-02

"Spirituality and medicine seems an unlikely combination until you read The Light Within. Finally we have a doctor who addresses the need for doctors to get involved with their patients lives when those patients are faced with a terminal illness. The interweaving of the two stories allows us to understand what the real meaning of spirituality is for both the doctor and the patient. Each helps the other to grow and deepen their own lives in-spite of difficult emotional setbacks. Even though the patient dies the reader is left feeling positive and grateful to have had the chance to get to know these two remarkable women. In this time of difficult medical connections which seem to revolve around paperwork and short visits it is heartening to know that there is a Dr. Ramondetta who is out there fighting for all of us. "
~ Written on 2008-06-18

"I connected to this book on so many levels...as a breast cancer survivor; a caregiver/support person for many friends and relatives with cancer; and a former MD Anderson employee with a special interest in the complexity of physician-patient communications and relationships. It's quite remarkable that Dr. Ramondetta was able to step beyond the traditional "limitations" of her role as a cancer doctor, in order to develop such a deep and enduring relationship with her patient Deb. Clearly, both their lives were the better for having met each other. How inspiring it must have been for Deb to know that her cancer diagnosis created the opportunity to have such a wonderful relationship.

I hope everyone who has or will encounter Cancer World (that means all of us, eventually) has a chance to read this book. Kudos to Dr. Ramondetta and Deb for taking the time and spending the emotional energy to create this wonderful legacy and testament to the power of love and friendship. "
~ Written on 2008-06-10

"
This is a fascinating account of the intersection of two lives, one a patient with a fatal ovarian cancer and the other a very caring physician . What makes the book so interesting and startling is the unique dispositions and personalities of the main characters and how this chance association produced a vibrant chemistry that enriched both of their lives as well as others upon whom the 'light within" was reflected. The book is very well written and is a must read for physicans and patients alike.
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~ Written on 2008-06-05

"It seems odd to read a memoir by someone you know, describing events to which you were something of a witness, but I found my friend Lois Ramondetta's newly published book, The Light Within, to be a great read and a moving account of her friendship with co-author Deborah Rose Sills that began when Sills was a patient at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and ended with Sills' death from ovarian cancer in 2006. Lois is a Gynecological Oncologist and met Sills in 1998 when Lois was a newbie cancer doctor at M. D. Anderson. The book weaves together a number of threads and discusses cancer and its treatment from the perspective of both patient and physician, alternating passages written by Lois with passages written or dictated by Deb. It's also an account of the personal lives of the two women and describes how their growing relationship enriched both of those lives. Highly recommended."
~ Written on 2008-05-29