Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient

"As I have a rare form of cancer (mesothelioma) with no real known cure this book was one I was told about that may help.
It has, and it should be read by all those with so-called incurable diseases, as it explains how much power we have in our own minds and body's when we take control of our own illness.
And when you feel in control it changes your perception of what is uncontronable.
I believe all the current medicos should read this and start realizing the incredible power the body has to heal itself and stop relying on all the drugs that are really the big killers of the day.
Not only that in his book Robyn Cousin's says that over 90% of all visits to the doctor could eliminated if people knew about this.
Knowledge is power and reading this book will give you power.
Ron Sullivan"
~ Written on 2008-03-25

"I am a physician and this book was a great read. It is one man's personal perspective into his own disease and his pontification on the health care system. Highly recommend. It is a non-scientific book and easy to read."
~ Written on 2007-12-15

"I highly recommend this book for several reasons. The author made a recovery from a terminal illness, and had a doctor who cooperated and encouraged him in his recovery. They even had the hospital run tests to verify whether the authors strategy was working.

The author's strategy involved the use of laughter, and found that 10 minutes of laughter, in his case watching Marx brothers movies would give him 2 hours of pain relief. Tests conducted by the hospital proved that the laughter caused the sed rate (which monitors tissue inflammation) to drop, proving the strategy worked. In addition taking megadoses of Vitamin C would also inhibit the deterioration of his connective tissue. Important elements of his recovery were his determination, the power of the placebo effect, and homeostasis, which is the body's natural ability to heal itself.

There are importanat topics covered in this book, and I particularly liked his stories from Dr Albert Schweitzer, a Nobel Prize winner.

Interestingly, Linus Pauling, a two time Nobel prize winner popularised the use of megadoses of Vitamin C, but that was in 1970, according to the author, six years after the author used the same strategy on its own illness.

I am very impressed with this book. Having explored energy healing, and emotional healing techniques for myself, I agree unequivocally that good body chemistry emanates from good emotions, just feeling good. How would you feel if you felt 100% healthy? I also remember a quote from the movie The Secret that 'cancer cannot survive in an emotionally healthy person.'

If you or someone you know has a serious health challenge, this book could be enormously helpful. If you would like to read further and get a more scientific approach, I recommend Linus Pauling, on How to Live Longer. It is an easy read. I devoured it in less than a day, and gave it to my mother.

If you find this review helpful, please click yes."
~ Written on 2007-11-29

"A superior read and what I needed when I was making the journey to surviorship from Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma (1991). Encouraged me to focus on the task that was at hand rather than spiraling into darkness. For what it is worth, read/give this and don't buy/read the Love, Medicine & Miracles (B. Siegel, 1986), which subtly implied all bad things happen because of a negative attitude. Guess what folks, if you are diagnosed with cancer or other life threatening disease, you are going to have a lot of crappy attitude days and then panicking because you just had a negative thought is a bit counter-productive."
~ Written on 2007-09-16

"I don't recall when this book was first published, or who first told me about it. But, it definitely improved my outlook on things several decades ago when I was quite ill--not incurably, or terminally, but a grave cost to quality of life, all the same.

Reading this, in the early 1980s, I think, was the first time I'd realized that my own attitude could actually make a difference in the outcome of my health, and the rate at which my injury healed. It was a revelation--one that several doctors were not to pleased to hear--and one which helped me enormously.

Of course personal attitude is far from everything. Having lost a friend to Hodgkin's--which was totally curable when he was diagnosed in early stage one--I'm painfully familiar with the risks individuals sometimes take in believing in phony spiritual cures and natural methods.

Still, there's a lot more to be said for state of mind and good humor than many physicians are willing to admit, or discuss with patients, even now. If this book is not assigned reading in the first year of medical school--and every year after--it should be."
~ Written on 2007-07-15