Doctor [Mass Market Paperback]

Edward E. Rosenbaum (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 30, 1991

"A graphic account of what it's like when a doctor crosses to the other side of the table and becomes a patient himself."--Parade Magazine

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"A graphic account of what it's like when a doctor crosses to the other side of the table and becomes a patient himself."--Parade Magazine

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 181 pages
• Publisher: Ivy Books; Mti edition (July 30, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804108730
• ISBN-13: 978-0804108737
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #186,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for anyone in the health care profession!, February 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Doctor (Mass Market Paperback)

In this honest and entertaining book, Dr. Edward Rosenbaum lets doctors know what it is really like to be a patient.

Dr. Rosenbaum constructs a remarkable narrative of his successful, yet painful battle with cancer and the medical system.

Dr. Rosenbaum's succint, humorous and imaginative style remarkablly illustrates his personal, familial and professional relationships during his ordeal.

Like most great works, the book is far better than the movie. THE DOCTOR is an essential-read for anyone in the health care profession.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Formerly titled: "A Taste of My Own Medicine", September 26, 2009

By 

E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Doctor (Mass Market Paperback)

Dr. Edward E. Rosenbaum was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx at age 70. This book is a memoir of both his experiences as a doctor and as a patient, caught in the inexorable, sometimes painful, often humiliating round of cancer treatment. His cancer remained misdiagnosed for several months by a physician-acquaintance of Dr. Rosenbaum's, who had not kept himself up-to-date on the latest diagnostic tools available to his specialty. When Dr. Rosenbaum finally gets a second opinion from a younger doctor, who knows how to use a fiberoptic nasopharyngoscope, he must decide on a method of treatment. As most of us cancer patients do, whether or not we are physicians ourselves, he let his doctor make the choice for him: radiation.

Anyone who has ever undergone a course of radiation treatments will empathize with Dr. Rosenbaum's grimly humorous description of his own therapy: stripped of his civilian clothes; bound into an awkward position on the radiation god's altar, while its priests sprint out of the room. You are never more alone than in that treatment room. The radiation god manifests itself in a series of clunks and whirrs. You freeze into place, afraid that a single movement will cause the deadly beam to go astray and blind you or pierce your heart. After the exposure has taken place, you can never be certain if anything happened: if your cancerous flesh was actually attacked. Dr. Rosenbaum says:

"They tell me that I am being treated by X ray. X means unknown. I can't see, hear, taste, feel, or smell the X rays. I have no way of knowing if anything is happening or if the machine is working...The radiologist assures me that something will happen and asks me to have faith. Is he a priest?"

The author's primary physician is terse, sometimes unapproachable. He cancels appointments with Dr. Rosenbaum. When they do meet, the patient hides symptoms such as reddened skin from his doctor, afraid that he will be told he is dying.

Cancer changes all of his relationships. Some friends desert him. He is no longer the omnipotent physician. He is mortal, perhaps near death. They can't deal with that.

I read this autobiography in one sitting, fascinated by Dr. Rosenbaum's transformation from all-powerful physician to powerless, fearful patient, then back to physician again, but with the additional role of patient-advocate. Most of us choose to forget our experiences in the cancer ward, but this author courageously shares his year as a cancer patient with us.