5 comments about Living Proof.

1. I read Professor Gearin-Tosh's book, Living Proof with mixed feelings. After plowing through page after page of language parsings and philosophical arguments, My thoughts about the homeopathic treatments he writes about are still mostly negative. His talent is with language and literature, and it shows.

   I simply can't rationalize that dietary supplements are cures! If that were the case, I reason, this terrible disease could readily be tamed. Unfortunately, in the real world, it is not; survival rates, no matter what courses are taken, are abysmal.

   Compelling arguments throughout the book have been made supporting his juice diets, vitamin-mineral supplements and coffee enemas. Towards the end of the book, Dr. Carmen Wheatley writes an electrifying and insightful essay entitled: "The Case of the .005% Survivor". It is an excellent investigation and case study of Multiple Myeloma. I still tend to look more favorably to conventional treatments with COMPETENT oncologists.




2. This is the book I have been waiting years for. Michael Gearin-Tosh describes a journey through the mazes of cancer therapies that is insighful, useful and a wonderful read. He calls the medical establishment to task and to their credit many of that community are paying attention.
   Mr. Gearin-Tosh is fair, evenhanded in his warnings and praises for both allopathic and alternative modalities- again useful to someone weighing the options. And finally in the description of his case the whys and wherefores of specific foods and vitamins are outlined.
   This is a great read that will save lives.



3. It was by coincidence I happened upon this wonderful book, if you believe in coincidences. The style and method of presentation of this dreadful subject of cancer was superb. To gain the perspective in writing of a person with documented access and audience to the most well respected oncology experts in the world was wonderful.

   I was diagnosed with the same disease as the author had and I had taken similar steps towards health. I experienced many of the same symptoms, many of the same dilibitating conversations on the rush to treatment put out by the traditional medical community. The author relied heavily on others to help him in his daily regime. In that he is fortunate. It was a stunning experience to me to find how many previous people in my life were suddenly unavailable. Suggestion: Do not ever be single and and diagnosed with cancer.

   I congratulate and salute M. Gearin-Tosh for publishing an easily read book on a difficult subject. The book draws the reader to the next chapter, and on and on. His list of references is great. Check with the public library for a copy of the book (where I found mine). This is not an average book by any stretch, I am buying a copy even after having read it.

   My large container of coffee is cooking on the stove Mr. Gearin-Tosh. Perhaps we can compare notes re oncology or better yet life in a few years over a cup of tea.




4. As someone who's had cancer, I found this book particularly wonderful for a variety of reasons. Not only do I admire Gearin-Tosh's independence and courage but I applaud the fact that he actually THINKS. And he sure can write too!

   For those of us who love language, Gearin-Tosh is a particular joy. How many cancer self-help books quote Chekhov and Shaw? And G-T also cites many cancer "memoirs" by folks who had conventional treatments (and died) like Liz Tilberis and John Diamond. The citations from these books are so very moving. (I was reminded of the late Gilda Radner's story many times, the suffering and the seemingly endless chemos she endured.)

   I also did what G-T did when I got my diagnosis--I reached out to everyone I knew who'd had cancer (and asked my friends to find me people to talk to) to find out how they dealt with it. I was particularly interested to know if they pursued any alternative therapies and to find out which ones. I now take many "anti-cancer" supplements and follow nutritional therapies that hopefully will discourage a recurrence of cancer. So far, so good. G-T says the cancer specialist Dr. Barlogie wanrs that the most important thing is not to have "a recurrence." Amen to that but I know many folks with cancer who've had chemo and radiation and experienced recurrences. If the medical profession had all the answers, there wouldn't be such a demand for books like this!! Not only does Gearin-Tosh think, write in an accessible format that's both charming and amusing, but he's a role model in courage.

   In the real world, many folks do both conventional protocols and alternative protocols for a variety of conditions including cancer. Often they don't tell their doctors because the doctors are hostile, indifferent or just plain ignorant. G-T's portraits of medical people are marvelous. In a few words, he sketches an entire person. I think this book would be very helpful for doctors too. A little humility is in order. I agree with Gearin-Tosh that medical exceptions should be studied, not dismissed as mere anomalies.

   People get entrenched in positions. G-T never said he'd "never" go the chemo route. but he did say it was a last resort. He also says he'd be thrilled if the medical community came up with a real "cure." But given the death rates and horrific side effects of conventional therapies at the time he embarked on his journey, the choice was his to make.

   The dirty secret of the medical profession is that cancer patients are guinea pigs for the most horrible therapies. And if we die from them, so what? We were going to do die anyway.

   A cancer diagnosis is indeed terrifying; but there's a lot to be said for empowering yourself. Hurrah for Michael Gearin-Tosh.




5. This is an entertaining book on a completely depressing subject. Hopefully Mr. Gearin-Tosh's tale will inspire others to do research and discover that chemotherapy does lack scientific proof of effectiveness and that scientific research has been done on the value of nutrition and other concepts.
   
   If you find yourself or a loved one has been diagnosed with any form of cancer, and if you are scientifically inclined, you might want to read "Complementary Oncology" written by some of the world's leading cancer researchers. Chemotherapy and radiation are *not* the only choices for treatment.

1 comments about Cholera, Chloroform and the Science of Medicine: A Life of John Snow.

1. I am not reviewing this book,but I believe you have an error in the price. Oxford's price is $49.95 not $59.95. The correction categories do not permit me to enter this information.

No comments about I Choose to Laugh: Faith in the Midst of Cancer.

No comments about A Fork in the Road: A Journey of Self-Discovery.

5 comments about Bearing the Big H: A Hormonal Journey on the Hysterectomy Highway.

1. This book was both entertaining and enlightening! I would wholeheartedly recommend it for anyone facing the surgery, or anyone who just wants a good Venus/Mars laugh!



2. Wanna laugh?..READ THIS BOOK! Wanna cry?.....READ THIS BOOK!
   This author's wit and humor are both hilarious and heart tugging! This is not a medical journal on Hysterectomy, this is a very real and funny account of a very real and funny woman's journey through the BIG H. Laugh at her, laugh at yourself, but READ IT and be encouraged. Honest feelings and earthy humor make this book a delight!



3. My wife and I purchased "Bearing the Big H", at one of Pattis' book signings. I was the first to read it. I was pleasently surprised and read it in a couple of nights. The " big H", is not something a man is normally knowledgeable about but it can drastically affect your relationship with loved ones. Ignorance is defenitely not bliss. My review? I've decided to purchase additional books for my parents(in their 80's), sister, and brother for Christmas gifts. Loved the book Patti!



4. As a retired nurse, I think the vast number of women who undergo removal of their uterus are usually well informed of the surgical procedure, the possible risks, and anatomical changes, but only a rare few are prepared for the hormonal frenzy that follows. Patti Pfeiffer's humorous--and sometimes heartbreaking--account of her surgery and the weeks that followed is a must read, not only for those who have had, or will have, a hysterectomy but for their spouses, too. Even those not involved in this medical dilemma will be amused by Ms. Pfeiffer's journey.



5. This book was wonderful. Not everything applied to my situtation but it was very helpful in knowing what to expect. There were even some great tips that I shared with my husband. We even had some interesting chats regarding specifics of the book.

1 comments about Vital Forces: The Discovery of the Molecular Basis of Life.

1. It has 4 pages of author index and 5 pages of subject index, many figures and tables (about one/every 5 pages).
   This book covers a 200 years history of chemistry and biochemistry, from 1770 to 1970, from Lavoisier to genetic code. It covers scientists like Lavoisier, Liebig, Kekule, Pateur, Levene, Morgan, Muller, Svedberg, Delbruck, Avery, Chargaff.

5 comments about The Cancer Journals: Special Edition.

1. Following on the tremendously sensual roast-beef scene in Zami, Lourde here rejects beef after coming to terms with the oppressive white system that probably imposed hormone-ridden substandard products on people of colour. I think this is very brave. I'd like to propose that in memory of Lourde all self-respecting womyn reject mass-produced beef products. A great book. And very eye-opening.



2. I cried through most of this book. Not out of pity for what Audre was going through, but simply because I have seldom seen anyone face such a crisis with such nobility and strength. On some level I think we all fear breast cancer. This book took the terror out of it for me and made me feel that if I were to end up with cancer that I would somehow come through it okay. Audre demonstrates that no matter how bad things get there is something to be learned and gained by the experience. She is a very inspiring and admirable women. She deals with the issue from both a practical, political, intellectual standpoint as well as an emotional one. I would recomend this book for anyone who has, or knows anyone with cancer, and for anyone who simply gets overwhelmed by the thought of someday getting breast cancer.She took on a tough and painful subject with the sensitivity and style of the poet she was , and gave us some wisdom to live by.



3. I think this is an important book for breast cancer survivors to read. It has made me think about a lot of things regarding my recovering.
   
   However, I can't help but feel...how? Inferior? Shallow? Like a wimp? I can't even think of a word for it...for choosing to wear a prosthesis and for looking forward to my reconstruction. As if somehow, if I was a better woman or I was a better feminist or a braver survivor I could say, "Forget it!" and walk around the world proudly showing off my one-breasted-ness under my t-shirt.
   
   This book is important because it's made me think hard about my post-cancer decisions. However, in the long run, I don't believe Lorde's opinions, experiences, and observations will be helpful for my continued survival.
   
   If you have chosen to wear a prothesis or to get reconstruction, don't look to this book for affirmation, you will just get judgement, although Lorde opines that it is not her *intent* to judge.
   
   I also think this book needs to be read in context of the time it was written. Breast cancer care has come a long way in the last 20 years. Lorde's belief that chemotherapy and radiation are in themselves carcinogenic may be true in the most extreme situation, in the most narrow sense, but nowadays the benefits by far outweigh the risks. Thousands upon thousands of survivors are around to attest to that.
   
   Sadly, maybe I'm not feminist enough or woman enough to risk my life in order to make the personal political, to prove a point. In reading "The Cancer Journals", I found that Audre Lorde was. And even though it wasn't all doom and gloom, and despite her joyful exultation of the loving women that cared for her, at the end of the book I found it all a little too sad.



4. Lorde's book will be of interest to those battling breast cancer and feminists, but also to anyone wanting to learn from a difficult experience. Lorde teaches us how to speak out against the injuustices done women, what it's like to survive in a hostile, male-chauvinist universe. Although the book is sad the wisdom it contains readily makes up for its difficcult content. Lorde's struggle is successful because she manages to rise above the difficulties caused by breast cancer--being one-breasted, for example--and overcome them. Her book is visionary.



5. Audre Lorde gives a good idea of exactly what she's feeling in her journals, even down to the negative aspects of her disease that some would more than likely keep to themselves. I appreciate her frankness and willingness to open up to other women thinking the same things.
   
   The thoughts bounced around a bit but overall I appreciate her putting her journey into words.

No comments about The Genius of C. Walton Lillehei and The True History of Open Heart Surgery.

2 comments about Wilhelm Reich: Psychoanalyst and Radical Naturalist.

1. Few important thinkers have been as marginalized as the psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich (1897-1957). Critics tend to focus on Reich's late, almost mystical writing, at the expense of his early breakthroughs in the analytic field. Indeed, Reich's critical ostracize repeats his personal and professional isolation from the 1930s onward. Rejected by the psychoanalytic community, and separated from his children, Reich ended his life in a federal prison on a charge, from of all places, the Food and Drug Administration. Robert Corrington's new book seeks to restore Reich's rightful place among other important twentieth century thinkers. A professor of theological philosophy at Drew University, Professor Corrington, places Reich's late work in a theological framework. More importantly, Corrington writes about Reich's work as a unified oeuvre whereby the later visions emerge logically from an earlier, more noted foundation.

   Orgasm theory is the lynchpin of Reich's thinking. More Freudian than Freud, Reich's devotion to a biological model emerges in the 1923 essay, "Concerning the Energy of Drives," which Corrington discusses in a detailed chapter on Reich's early writings and case studies. Reich refused Freud's postulation about a death drive stressed a life affirming philosophy at the time Freud turned toward ego psychology draining psychoanalysis of its radical core. Other early papers feature the seeds of character analysis delineated in 1925's study of the impulsive character. Corrington nicely outlines Reich's focus on the somatic core of illness and the significance of negative transference. Further, Corrington points out Reich's use of active intervention in the therapy session. Although Sandor Ferenczi also stressed an active engagement with the patient, Reich's work brought him into contact with the patient's social world and an understanding of how health requires not just individual emotion adjustment, but the transformation of social institutions. Chapter three focuses on The Mass Psychology of Fascism and Chapter four on Character Analysis. Each of these texts is classic and Corrington illuminates the works in a careful, balanced fashion. Sadly, therapy today continues to neglect the social dimension. Psychiatry's reliance on medication, which attacks only the symptom, rarely understands the dilemma of patients who cannot even afford the medication proscribed for them. Reich's sensitivity to the working class deserves the credit this book accords him.

   The text, as mentioned earlier, reads Reich's late work, in the context of the analyst's overall development. On one hand, Reich's preoccupation with orgone energy and his use of primitive technology like the "orgone accumulator" are difficult to take seriously
   Certainly, Reich lacked Einstein's theoretical genius and, consequently, could never formulate a reasonable account for his alleged findings. On the other hand, the super string theories of contemporary physicists also lack confirmation. What brings disparate thinkers together is a commitment to a unified theory of the universe and Corrington admirably outlines Reich's devotion to solving life's mystery, whether in failure (orgone energy) or triumph (the significance of social intervention in the therapeutic process). The book is highly recommended and should help return Reich's work to circulation. Dr. David Seelow, R.P.I.




2. This book does a reasonable job to overview Reich's life and most of his early work, though it fails to be as thorough as for example Sharaf's "Fury on Earth". The author gives his impressions of Reich's work, a philosopher's discourse and comparative review of Reich's behavioral findings as they relate to modern ideas in psychiatry and psychology... and on that matter he does a reasonable job. However, what bothered me was the terrible misrepresentation of Reich's biophysical research. Corrington either does not know about, or knows but for some reason fails to discuss, the multitude of controlled studies undertaken both during Reich's lifetime and after his death, which have verified the more controversial aspects of his biological and orgone energy discoveries. So, for example, the reader will learn nothing about: 1) DeMeo's 1970s University of Kansas replication of Reich's cloudbuster research, showing positive results, nor DeMeo's global cross-cultural study "Saharasia" which used standard anthropological evidence to prove the global accuracy of Reich's sex-economic findings on the origins of violence. 2) The double-blind and controlled studies of S. Mueschenich and R. Gebauer at the University of Marburg in the early 1980s, "The Psycho-Physiological Effects of the Reich Orgone Accumulator", verifying exactly Reich's original findings on the human physiological response to the orgone accumulator. Also not mentioned, the additional replication study of the orgone accumulator by G. Hebenstreit at the University of Vienna. (both of these are fully cited in DeMeo's "Orgone Accumulator Handbook") 3) The large number of replication studies on the orgone accumulator's effects upon plants and cancer mice by Richard Blasband, Courtney Baker, Robert Dew and others as published in many articles in the Journal of Orgonomy, Annals of the Institute for Orgonomic Science, Pulse of the Planet and (German) Emotion journals, from c.1965 up into the present. 4) Replication studies on Reich's bions, as made by biologists from R. duTeil in France, who presented his results to the French Academy of Science in 1938, to B. Grad in Canada to Dew, Blasband, and a whole list of others who made replications of Reich's biogenesis and bion experiments -- none are mentioned except in a single passing footnote (p.280, n.10) The recent issue of Pulse of the Planet (subtitled "Heretic's Notebook") shows color photos of protocells and bionous forms well on the path to life made from completely sterile and previously "dead" preparations, following or building upon Reich's original protocols, by Grad, Snyder and DeMeo, equal to anything published by NASA in the nature of contemporary "origins of life" research. 5) Also not mentioned, clinical studies from German physicians, where "Orgone Accumulator Therapy" has shown dramatic help to cancer patients and against other immune-system disorders. Unlike the USA, where the FDA uses policemen and the courts to assure a pharmaceutical monopoly, in Germany the orgone accumulator has a legal status similar to acupuncture and homeopathy, as an accepted form of "energetic medicine" which is even recommended to the EU by the German government for harmonization of medical practices. And so on. Corrington is an academic, sympathetic to Reich, and so he should have dug into and explicitly reported on these matters. He also apparently got the ear of Roger Straus, head of Farrar, Straus and Giroux publishers, who is intimate with the Wilhelm Reich Museum and also claims to be sympathetic to Reich -- so both the author and editor are in the "Reich circles" sufficiently to know about these studies, or at least to have been asking some questions. Why are the "friends of Reich" so systematically oblivious to these facts, or unwilling to mention them in new books such as this one? I know for a fact, that Straus was approached to publish other books which gave these facts on Reich's biophysical work, but those books were politely refused. Why? Why is it that those who are interested in Reich's therapeutic work, often denigrate and ignore his biophysical work. Why? A half-dozen emails by author Corrington to senior researchers following up on Reich's work over the years would have provided him with an abundant list of such replication studies -- the orgonelab.org website has an entire lengthy "Bibliography on Orgonomy" online and available to anyone, with an entire separate list of citations to Reich's work and the many replication studies. Nearly none of it is mentioned in the Corrington book, save for the materials on Reich's early work. Why? This is a glaring omission, a "condemning with faint praise" of his later biogenesis, cancer and orgone energy discoveries, and it stands out like a sore thumb. This book will help the dishonest "skeptics" to once again sit comfortably with their long-time disinformation and outright lies about Reich, which were responsible for his death in prison, for the burning of his books, and for the contemporary academic distortions and black-out on his important discoveries. This book will be a frustrating and upsetting read for those who know the facts.

5 comments about Healing Lazarus: A Buddhist's Journey from Near Death to New Life.

1. Lewis uses the words, "...permanently transformed by the experience..." "...must endure against formidable odds." In this book, Lewis has told his story in a manner which will warm the hearts of survivors, AND help loved ones and caregivers understand. I will very highly recommend this book to my survivor friends. A remarkable autobiography!



2. What a book. Good for you Lew. It goes to the depths and brings us up with a moving story of despair and hope and enormous effort.



3. An exceptional book! Lewis Richmond touches your heart as he writes of a rare disease, encephalitis, that transforms his mind, body, and soul. As a survivor, I truly appreciate the depth he goes to explain this devastating ordeal. Highly recommended.



4. Appreciated Richmond's interweaving, and fleshing out of, the Biblical story of Lazarus with Buddhist beliefs and principles. The honest and revealing sharing of his emotional experience was moving. I wish he had commented, even briefly, on people who don't have devoted spouses, ethical business associates, and good medical insurance when such tragedies happen. Does he have anything to offer these folks? He is/was a blessed man in many ways.



5. zzzzzzzz.... Guy gets sick, guy is well supported by family , friends, lite religion and plenty of cash. Get "Deep Survival" by Laurence Gonzales instead of this for some truly gripping tales of human Resilience. Steve Kelly