Healing Lessons [Paperback]

Sidney Winawer (Author), Nick Taylor (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415923565 | ISBN-13: 978-0415923569 | Publication Date: May 1999 | Edition: 1

Dr. Sidney J. Winawer was one of the world's leading cancer experts. Yet when his wife Andrea was stricken with stomach cancer, not even his skills and dedication as a physician could reverse the grim prognosis. Together the couple explored complementary and alternative treatments. Healing Lessons is a testament to the strength of love and the story of a doctor's transformation--the new treatments he embraced and the lessons he learned on the opposite side of the doctor-patient relationship.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Dr. Sidney Winawer, chief of gastroenterology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, thought he was being paged. "Winawer. Winawer," a voice called. But it wasn't the hospital's paging system that was beckoning him; it was an intake nurse, calling to admit his wife, Andrea, for her surgery for metastatic stomach cancer.

While Winawer had treated thousands of cancer patients before his wife became ill, seeing Andrea wearing a shapeless, flimsy hospital gown shocks him; how could the hospital make someone wear something that unflattering? From the invasiveness of endoscopies to the brutal side effects of chemotherapy, the treatments he administered day after day horrify him when he's forced to examine them from his new perspective. After the surgery to remove her tumor, Andrea's grim prognosis--six months to live, given that the cancer has spread to her liver--leaves him powerless and embarrassed. One of the world's preeminent cancer experts, a man who admits he entered medicine mainly for the power it provides, won't be able to save the life of his own wife.

The story gains momentum when Andrea seeks out alternative medical treatments. With hyperthermia treatments in Wisconsin and interferon shots in Atlanta, her condition starts to improve. Of course, the Winawers' access to medical care at Sloan-Kettering and the awe that Sidney commands from his peers and other doctors around the country assure them immediate appointments; they also have full access to the stacks of research papers at Memorial's medical library. Their wealth allows them to even ship tumor tissue samples on dry ice to a doctor in Bern, Switzerland, to check for somatostatin receptors, a test that becomes key in their approach to her treatment. And Andrea, who never returned to work after the birth of their children and who has the luxury of a housekeeper, fortunately has the time to delve into books on meditation and the mind-body connection by Dr. Bernie Siegel and Dr. Lawrence LeShan.

Despite the Winawers' advantages over most other cancer sufferers, Andrea's condition eventually worsens during the following years. As she desperately resorts to supplements of vitamins and coenzyme Q-10, coffee enemas, then 10 different kinds of chemotherapy and a bone-marrow transplant, we see the family alternately falling apart and coming together. The ultimate triumph of the book is Andrea's wonderfully willful spirit. While its intricacies will be of most interest to those directly affected by cancer, the Winawers' poignant story will thoroughly move anyone looking for inspiration. --Erica Jorgensen --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Winawer, a top cancer specialist, recounts his unexpected personal acquaintance with the disease when his beloved wife was diagnosed with stomach cancer. His being head of the Laboratory for Gastrointestinal Cancer Research at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital makes his revelations here all the more poignant. Winawer was forced to realize the limitations of traditional medicine, to look at the role emotions and alternative medicine can play in healing, and to reevaluate his method of practicing medicine. Beautifully relating the complexities of the experience of illness and the struggles of the human soul, Winawer's excellent book should be read by physicians and the general public alike. Recommended for public and medical libraries.?Kristine Benishek, Shank Memorial Lib., Good Samaritan Hosp., Dayton
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (May 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415923565
• ISBN-13: 978-0415923569
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8 x 2.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,387,985 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't put it down..., October 25, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Healing Lessons (Hardcover)

I recommend this book to those living with cancer and those who love them. This book reveals that those of us who care about someone with cancer, even a world-reknowned physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, are feeling many of the same emotions and drains. Sloan-Kettering is a wonderful hospital and Sid Winawer is amongst its many, many stars.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must read for a caregiver, November 9, 2004

By 

H. Fierlinger "hassie" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Healing Lessons (Paperback)

I read this book days after discovering my father has stomach cancer. I am so greatful for this book. There are not many books that deal exclusively with gastric cancer and that is what made this book so important to me. For me it was good to go through the entire process of before diagnosis to death throught the voice and eyes of a top Gastroenterologist. I thought the book was a bit over the top with the descriptions of their wealth and fortunes. I also skipped over the religious/god bit. But overall I was truly touched with the descriptions of her death. With reagrd to the alternative treatments I suppose it discouraged me from waisting money on it. It helped me focus of what does work and the thought that hope is a powerful motivator. It gave me and idea of what to expect for my father and for that I am grateful.