Customer Reviews

AfterShock: What to Do When the Doctor Gives You--Or Someone You Love--a Devastating Diagnosis

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This fabulous book should be in everyone's medicine chest because like bandages and aspirin, sooner or later, you're going to need it. Gruman skillfully and sensitively guides the reader through the full spectrum of concerns and activities that characterize the first several weeks after receiving a devastating medical diagnosis. Some of the chapters are devoted to topics you would expect in such a book: how to get a second opinion, how to manage the flood of emotions that spill over you. But others are entirely unexpected and therefore, especially welcome: how to deal with your insurance company, how to inform family members and co-workers, how to negotiate benefit managers, etc.

And just in case the above suggests that this is a dry and technical book, it's absolutely not. The great strength of AfterShock is that compelling and often heart-rending anecdotes from real patients, doctors, human resources specialists, and family members provide an emotional grounding for every bit of advice the book contains. This book is essential reading. Like it or not, we're all going to need it sooner or later.

Jessie Gruman, Ph.D., has written an essential reference for just about everyone. She offers a well-informed cushion and roadmap to support what most of us will face quite unprepared--the shock of learning that you or someone you love has a bad diagnosis. Gruman has been there--she's had 4 serious illnesses, including 3 different cancers. She has brought together her own personal experience and her extensive behavioral science and health policy professional knowledge in a very accessible reference. She was interviewed on the Charlie Rose Show on 7/11/07. (You can get the DVD through Amazon) Notice how engaged Charlie Rose becomes from the get-go in his interview with her, due to his own health issues and what she has to say. Don't wait until you get the bad news, and you are in shock. Watch this interview and then buy this book now.

You couldn't find an more apt title for a book than this one. My 75 year old mother was recently told that she has cancer. Needless to say we were all in a state of shock. This was not supposed to happen to our mother! My sister had heard about this book. We bought four of them - one for each sister and one for my Mother and Dad. It's been a wonderful resourse for asking questions and for knowing what questions to ask. We've gone to all doctor/oncologist appointments with Mother and they seemed to have been impressed with our questions and our support. I like the way the book includes personal experience stories - many of which we could relate to.

AfterShock will lead you from the depths of dispair to daylight. The understanding that what you are feeling is normal and to be expected as you absorb and deal with facts of your own mortality is a true gift. The advice as to choosing the right doctor, hospital, places to go for assistance, and useful reminders as you get your life in order is invaluable. This useful and easily understood book is a truly effective guide to peace of mind.

As the title suggests, this is the book for you if you --- or someone you love --- gets a devastating diagnosis. But don't wait. Reading it before disaster struck was very helpful to me in several ways. It guided me through some thoughts about how I might respond to a bad diagnosis myself, but also prepared me to offer some genuine help to others when they suddenly faced bad news. If I hadn't read it myself, I probably would have been reluctant to share it with a friend at such a sensitive time. But having read this book, I observed how Dr. Gruman used her own challenging health experiences, and those of hundreds of others she interviewed, to give gentle support and genuine practical advice to people reeling from news they didn't want to get. The sad news is that I've had occasion to give two copies as gifts in recent months. The good news is that the recipients found the book extremely helpful. When a bad disgnosis comes and everyone else is lamenting "What can I do?", a concerned friend can step in with a gift of this book and feel confident that it is tasteful, sensitive, and useful because it's written by an author who's professionally well-qualified, but has also "been there" herself.

From: www.BasilAndSpice.com
Author & Book Views On A Healthy Life!

Book Review: AfterShock: What to Do When the Doctor Gives You--or Someone You Love a Devastating Diagnosis by Jessie Gruman, MD

Recently, I posted a blog on my site titled "I Hate Cancer," chronicling my father's diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. While still in shock, my family struggled to find answers and a positive supportive doctor. An informative book I highly recommend to others in a like situation is AfterShock: What to Do When the Doctor Gives You--or Someone You Love--a Devastating Diagnosis, by Jessie Gruman, Ph.D.

Dr. Gruman is the founder and president of the Center for the Advancement of Health, and independent, nonpartisan Washington-based policy institute. The center works to help people use good scientific information when making decisions about their health and health care. Most importantly, Dr. Gruman herself has received blowing shocks from doctors after being diagnosed with cancers and a heart condition.

AfterShock is for anyone who has received a negative diagnosis of AIDS, cancer, ALS, HIV, Alzheimer's disease, MS, or any other life-threatening condition. It's frightening not just for the individual, but also for his or her family. Dr. Gruman outlines how to respond to the shock, learn about the condition and treatments available, decide whether or not to involve others, find the right doctors and hospitals, get timely medical appointments, find second opinions, manage the working life, pay for the care, find relief, and finally take further steps.

Typically, as the patient or family member, we all react differently to shocks with feelings of unfairness, crying, rage, withdrawal, or running thoughts. We might also be confused, forgetful, or experience mood swings. Dr. Gruman says to watch out for confusion of signs of shock with symptoms of the condition. She lists common physical responses to shock as: crying, appetitie disruption, stomachache, headache, heightened sensitivity to normal physical complaints, lethargy, agitation, hyperactivity, or sleep disturbances.

What to do: Begin to calm down. Obviously this is "easier said than done," and may take time. But Dr. Gruman suggests what worked for her and others:

Pet the dog or cat. Walk to the store. Pay bills. Call your minister. Or eat ice cream.

Fill in the time between diagnosis and waiting for the test results, around 48 hours. My dad did this too. We debated about demanding a referral to an oncologist before the sample of brushings was retrieved. For us, every day counted. Like everyone else does, we felt a sense of urgency--Dad saw three oncologists and settled on the last one.

Be calm and don't make rash decisions.

5 Stars