Cancers of the Mouth and Throat: A Patient's Guide to Treatment [Paperback]

William M. Lydiatt MD (Author), Perry Johnson MD (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2000 | ISBN-10: 1886039445 | ISBN-13: 978-1886039445 | Edition: 1

William Lydiatt, M.D. and Perry Johnson, M.D., have worked with hundreds of mouth and throat cancer patients. They understand the emotional turmoil patients and their families go through after a cancer diagnosis, and they know how being informed can relieve some of that stress. Topics covered in this book include how early detection leaads to high cure rates; symptoms that could mean cancer; the emotional side of the cancer; how doctors make a diagnosis; staging the cancer and why it so important; surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy—how they kill cancer; reconstructive surgery; and experimental treatment through clinical trials.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Patients and family members seeking comprehensive coverage of mouth and throat cancers will get little help from this latest guide by otolaryngologist Lydiatt and plastic and reconstructive surgeon Johnson. Sadly, this well-written and easy-to-read guide falls short in detailing the specifics. For example, the chemotherapy section presents a good overview of how cancer drugs fight the disease but fails to name or provide data on the specific drugs used to combat each type of cancer. Similarly, the surgery chapter is supplemented in the appendix by brief explanations of each mouth and throat operation, but these explanations do not explain clearly the unique features, risks, and complications of each procedure. Patrons would be better advised to look at chapter "Head and Neck Cancers" in The American Cancer Society's Informed Decisions (NAL, 1999) until a more thorough, patient-friendly text is available. Not recommended.AGail Hendler, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Ctr., New York
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Since tobacco and alcohol are major causes of many mouth and throat cancers, steering clear of them will lessen the number of their sufferers. Lydiatt and Johnson, however, concentrate primarily on the diseases, not prevention, beginning with their diagnosis and warning signs. From those topics, they turn to how to choose a good doctor--a matter many other patient-oriented books address only near the end. Its appearance here emphasizes its importance, especially in the early stages of disease. Much of the rest of the book is concerned with treatment, including surgery, outcomes, and rehabilitation. Radiation and chemotherapy are clearly discussed; clinical trials are described but not overemphasized; and pain management and end-of-life issues aren't scanted. Aided by the warmth of several poems by Ted Kooser, Lydiatt and Johnson touch on the emotional as well as the physical effects of mouth and throat cancers. William Beatty
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Addicus Books; 1 edition (December 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886039445
• ISBN-13: 978-1886039445
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #721,450 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Emotional Livesaver: A Patient's Guide to Treatment, February 24, 2003

By 

L. Ciochetto (Papillion, NE USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cancers of the Mouth and Throat: A Patient's Guide to Treatment (Paperback)

When you get the news you have cancer, there is a period of waiting in total agony for yourself and your family until the time you get before a specialist who can explain and answer your concerns. As you wait, fears and anxiety lead to despair and depression because you don't have understandable information and your mind thinks the worse based upon your preconceptions of the word "Cancer."

Simple questions that need immediate answers. What is cancer and how did I get it? How bad is this cancer and how far has it spread? What caused it and what can I do to change my lifestyle? How will they treat it and what are the odds of success in treatment? How long will this take and what are the likely side effects?

This book, Cancers of the Mouth and Throat: A Patient's Guide to Treatment, has its greatest value during that time as an initial resource to frame the problem and sketch out concerns and issues for the patient in a language that is logical and understandable.

A friend gave me this book shortly after diagnosis for cancer. I was being treated at an ENT clinic for an acid reflux problem that was so bad that it closed my airway. The acid reflux apparently had damaged tissues to the degree that it created a carcinoma just below the vocal chords. The book explained how all of this happened and I could see my situation completely.

I strongly recommend it for hospitals, clinics, and institutions that can put it in the hands of newly diagnosed patients. It has been a wonderful comfort to me throughout radiation treatment, and I reference it often.

Searching the internet for information can be confusing and often only creates more fear, because you don't even know what questions to ask. This value of this book, Cancers of the Mouth and Throat: A Patient's Guide to Treatment, is its focus upon an overview -- not medical mumbo jumbo detail -- but an overview, of head and neck cancers, treatment options, side effects, in a language understandable to patients.

This book was an absolute lifesaver to my emotional health, and sits at my bedside. Next to the Holy Bible, this book did the most in my situation to provide information that put me back in control of the cancer.

A patient needs this book to answer what cancer is, what to expect, and what to do and to guage the probabilities for success of a course of action. This book provided the answers to family that call with concerns and support.

By the time I finally went to my first cancer clinic visit, I went calm, informed, secure and with a positive spirit. The book gave me a basic understanding of my condition. I was able to ask and answer questions intelligently, and to give my family reassurances for their concerns and questions.

I most strongly recommend this book and thank the authors for writing it and the hospital administrators that bought it as a resource for their patients, and the friend that brought it to me.

3.0 out of 5 stars Good general overview, November 15, 2011

By 

Paige Bucherschrank (Poughkeepsie, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cancers of the Mouth and Throat: A Patient's Guide to Treatment (Paperback)

I agree that this book is well-written and easy-to-read. This is not a textbook and wasn't intended to be one. It is a good overview of cancers of the mouth and throat and will help the reader think about what questions to ask the doctors. As an oral cancer patient (not a medical professional) I do not agree with the Library Journal reviewer who said that the book falls short in detailing the specifics. For example, providing data on the specific chemotherapy drugs used to combat each type of cancer would be another whole other book. Also, the general information about chemotherapy is still good but the specific drugs (or combination of drugs) change. Similarly, providing detailed explanations including the unique features, risks, and complications of each surgical procedure would be another whole book.

On the down side, the first chapter is out-of-date about causes of head & neck cancer. Human papilloma virus is barely mentioned but the number of head and neck cancers linked to HPV has increased sharply over the past twenty years and a recent study stated that HPV is currently responsible for more cancers than tobacco or alcohol. The information about staging cancers in chapter 3 is incomplete, especially about stage IV and recurrent cancer.

If you need inspiration, read Laugh, Sing, and Eat Like a Pig: How an Empowered Patient Beat Stage IV Cancer (And What Healthcare Can Learn from It.) and then give it to your doctor to read.

If you need calories, try Nestle Carnation Instant Breakfast VHC Lactose Free Vanilla 250Ml - Case of 24 - Model 9871633900 with 560 calories per can.

If you are looking for more detailed medical information (or you aren't scared enough yet), try: Oral Cancer: Diagnosis, Management, and Rehabilitation, Atlas of Head and Neck Surgery: Expert Consult and Handbook of Cancer Chemotherapy (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Handbook Series).

1.0 out of 5 stars Not enough information., January 3, 2003

By 

Kortney (New York, N.Y.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cancers of the Mouth and Throat: A Patient's Guide to Treatment (Paperback)

The authors seem to assume their readers are incapable of appreciating the "whole picture" when it comes to diagnosis and treatment. They spoon-feed what they consider to be the important information, leaving more questions than they answered.