Customer Reviews

Living Proof

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Cancer. Few words conjure up as much emotion or such fervent reaction as this one. 'Living Proof' is brilliantly written and accurately presents MGT's personal experience of facing in his own body, one of the worst forms of incurable cancer. Read of his emotions, his reactions and those of other people around him, from close friends to 'renowned experts'. He is clear and concise, and given the nature of the subject and the challenges it presents to him (life or death) about as unbiased as it is possible to be.

I confess to being biased but I've never read such a well-documented account of someone who has access to the very best resources and contacts and who records his journey toward making an immense decision about which treatment to choose in such an entertaining way.

Cancer Research is now one of the world's largest employers and if everyone involved with it read this account, I doubt that we would continue to lose so many loved ones to a disease that breeds ignorance with such spellbinding effect.

If you think you already know all the answers then read this book, regardless of whether you are 'for or against' conventional treatment. I'm going to give away a free copy to anyone I meet who is facing this disease. I hate cancer but not nearly as much as I hate ignorance.

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.

In the debates about education we seldom hear about the primary uses of thinking. Not just figuring and scheming how to get or stay ahead, not abstract philosophical or practical problem-solving, but as tools for survival.
When, almost a decade ago, Michael Gearin-Tosh received news that he had advanced myeloma, he faced two stark choices: begin chemotherapy at once or die in a few months. As a professor of literature at Oxford University, Gearin-Tosh was accustomed to giving much less weighty matters a great deal of thought, so he hesitated. He consulted other opinions, one of whom said that any of the radical therapies would kill him. At most he would have an extra couple of years, and miserable ones at that.
After a great deal of thinking, using linguistic and etymological analysis on each shade of meaning used by doctors and others, and doing a great deal of research into unfamiliar areas, Gearin-Tosh decided against chemotherapy and undertook various alternative therapies. Some of these have been deplored by many in the medical profession and hardly any of them would have been recommended by them.
Mr Gearin-Tosh has not been cured, but he is very much alive today. He is "Living Proof" of how to take charge of one's own life, instead of surrendering it helplessly to experts.
The most chilling moment of this enormously readable and gripping book comes when the patient has explored a range of unconventional therapies and goes to consult Sir David Weatherall, Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford, and one of the most eminent medical authorities in the world. He asks the expert whether he thought him mad for not following medical advice, and Sir David pauses - to think. Finally he says:
"What you must understand, Mr Gearin-Tosh, is that we know so little about how the body works."

The book is a triumph of the mind not over the body but for the body. It never preaches or makes any claims for one particular method over another. Gearin-Tosh simply describes what happened, and the process of thinking that made him into a living proof. He carefully avoids telling you, if you have been diagnosed with cancer, what to do. But he teaches you to think for yourself so that you would have a chance to save your life. And that is all that a great teacher can do.

With reference to the review from William of Cincinatti, Ohio that appears elsewhere on this site.
It is heartening to hear from someone who has benefitted from a conventional medical approach to the disease of Myeloma. However, his warnings and comments about Living Proof are not only misinformed (the writer cheerfully admits that he has no intention of reading the book), they are also quite harmful. To call a book dangerous is a serious allegation. Readers of the book, however, will find that Living Proof is a memoir of a highly intelligent man who merely asked questions about the nature of his illness and the treatment his own body was to receive. His questions led him to construct a highly personalised regime that has so far proved effective in managing his disease. He is not prescriptive and he is not trying to sell anything. He shares his experiences with the reader with candor and humour. Moreover, the book itself concludes with a well researched and sourced essay from a doctor that addresses the very issues which trouble this writer. That essay was endorsed by a qualified and reputable expert in the field of Myeloma - Dr. Robert Kyle. On the website of the Myeloma Foundation can be found another sympathetic endorsement of the book from Dr. Robert Durie. These experts do not conclude that Mr. Gearin Tosh has found a cure for myeloma but they do say that he is well worth listening to. Living Proof can offer hope and insight to anyone has an open mind. And Mr. Gearin Tosh has proved with his book that an open mind is the one thing you need when diagnosed with a serious illness.

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.

I found the first couple of chapters very difficult to read because of the emotions that emerged for me, a bone marrow transplant survivor. The author quotes another book: "Bone marrow transplant allows us to give an essentially lethal treatment ... We take out some of your own marrow, freeze it in liquid notrogen, and when you're [very sick], we give it back. We haul you to the brink, push you a bit over, and then pull you back." (p. 30) That brought back memories I hadn't thought about for a while, and I had to put the book down for a while to compose myself. It struck me that in the early part of the book, the author was documenting everything negative he could think of regarding conventional cancer treatment as a rationalization for having not undergone that treatment himself. But having gone through the treatment myself, I have to focus on the positive aspects, though I'm well aware that there are plenty of negatives (some of which I still deal with on a daily basis).

I think the audience best suited for this book is people diagnosed with cancer who have chosen not to undergo conventional treatment; or patients leaning toward alternative treatments who are grappling with the social pressures to rely instead on conventional treatment. (It would also be useful for someone facing the same myeloma diagnosis as the author. The medical case at the back of the book contains detail which could prove very useful to such an individual.)

As someone who considered avoiding conventional treatment but then resorted to it in the end (rather in desperation, but definitely by choice), there was an aspect of the book I found troubling. One of the reviews on the back cover described the book as the story of a man who chose his own course. On reflection, it doesn't seem to me that the author *chose* much of anything. He seemed to be stunned into inaction after his diagnosis (understandably so), and I think if not for the influence of his 'take-charge' former student Carmen Wheatley, he might have done nothing at all! She was the one who arranged all the consultations, she wrote to specialists in the US, she educated him on the availability of alternative treatments ... Perhaps the author did at some point in the process articulate his preference for pursuing an alternative mode of treatment, but such an event didn't seem to be described in the book. To me, he just seemed to go with the flow. I appreciate that the book is a simplified version of reality, but as a patient for whom choice was a big issue through treatment, I found this point irritating.

Having said all that nasty stuff :-) let me say that in a literary sense the book is beautiful. The author takes a very difficult subject matter and describes it with eloquence. The quotes he uses, ranging from Shakespeare's works to medical transcripts, are always perfectly appropriate. And perhaps most importantly, he describes his odyssey in a format much more creative than the basic journal format so many other survivors of life-threatening disease employ.

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.

A fantastic ride through illness and recovery. The author's account of his battle with myeloma is filled with his calm, rational tone that belies the earth shattering consequences of his decisions. A wonderful, literate look at illness and healing. A must read for health professionals and patients battling with any disease. Very highly recommended for those who doubt alternative therapies.

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.

My good friend has Multiple Myeloma, an incurable type of cancer, and so I was eager to read this personal account. Although this is one man's case history and not a scientific study, I believe that the remedies he used can help everyone, at least to some degree, who has cancer. Chemo drugs are by their nature toxic, and so wherever possible, non-toxic, natural remedies for cancer should be encouraged. This man beat the statistical odds for survival for Multiple Myeloma by many years: read and learn!