Misinformed Consent: Women's Stories About Unnecessary Hysterectomy [Paperback]

Lise Cloutier-Steele (Author), Mary Anne Wyatt (Author), Stanley West MD (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2003

The personal accounts in this collection were written by women who have undergone hysterectomies, and they offer a sobering perspective on the surgery. The potential risks and irreversible consequences of the surgery are presented to dispel popular beliefs that hysterectomies pose no medical or emotional risks. The stories and resources encourage individual women and the medical community at large to consider alternative and more effective treatment options.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The brave, beleagured women who tell their stories. . . provide us with vivid proof that most women and most physicians remain woefully ignorant about the alternatives to and the consequences of unnecessary hysterectomy. In order to ensure that we and our physicians become better informed, this poignant book begins with a strong demand for change and ends with a comprehensive list of resources that help women better protect themselves.

About the Author

Lise Cloutier-Steele is the author of Living and Learning with a Child Who Stutters. She lives in Gloucester, Ontario.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Next Decade, Inc.; Rev Sub edition (February 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970090862
• ISBN-13: 978-0970090867
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #439,414 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Women Empowered by Knowledge, July 6, 2003

By 

Lisa Ann Martinez (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Misinformed Consent: Women's Stories About Unnecessary Hysterectomy (Paperback)

The hope that change is possible not only motivates Lise Cloutier-Steele and the women telling their stories in Misinformed Consent, but also is illustrated by the example given by Stanley West, MD, in his introduction to this book. Talking about his observation of how the disfiguring radical mastectomy has been replaced by the lumpectomy as the "gold standard" in the medical field, Dr. West states that it was not medical professionals who instigated this change: "Rather women-empowered by knowledge-stated simply that they would no longer allow a disfiguring operation to be performed when they could undergo an equally successful surgery without the negative consequences."

While for so long a blanket of silence has covered the risks and consequences of hysterectomy, it is time for change. This is not light or entertaining reading, but a courageous sharing of private pain by women who want knowledge to effect change. Each and every woman, whether or not she is personally contemplating a hysterectomy or has already experienced one herself, would benefit from reading Misinformed Consent. -Bets Davis & Lisa Martinez for "The Women's Sexual Health Foundation...this book is listed as one of our recommended resources.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The message in this book NEEDS to be read, March 2, 2003

By 

E. Blumin (Pembroke Pines, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Misinformed Consent: Women's Stories About Unnecessary Hysterectomy (Paperback)

Misinformed Consent weaves a ribbon from story to story - the common thread - surgical castration and resultant post-operative anatomical, hormonal and psychological changes. None of the women whose stories appear here were prepared for the changes they experienced after surgery. INFORMED consent was not given to these women as crucial and pertinent information was withheld. Generations of women were silenced and made to feel they were alone is they complained after this surgery. Doctors are still denying these consequences can and DO occur FREQUENTLY. The book is not about a select few, the numbers are astounding. This information should be disseminated to women considering hysterectomy. This may well be the trailblazer publication that will begin women taking a stand against conventional medical standards that have been outdated for decades.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Homecoming, September 15, 2003

By 

Anna Black (Ottawa, ON CANADA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Misinformed Consent: Women's Stories About Unnecessary Hysterectomy (Paperback)

Story after story validated my own experience with symptoms and doctors.
These courageous women discover it's not mental weakness they're suffering from, it's physical endocrine problems caused by uneccessary hysterectomies. Any woman considering a hysterectomy should read Misinformed Consent. Any woman who wishes to live instead of survive should read this book. Thank you Lise and friends, for Misinformed Consent. In it, I learned, for the first time, about saliva-testing for hormone levels, compounding pharmacists, and bio-identical products for hormone replacement therapy.