The Patient from Hell: How I Worked with My Doctors to Get the Best of Modern Medicine and How You Can Too [Hardcover]

Stephen H. Schneider (Author), Janica Lane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 26, 2005

Threatened with a rare and life-threatening cancer, a scientist works with his doctors to make decisions in the face of uncertainty

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Schneider, a climate scientist at Stanford and a MacArthur fellow, brought skills rooted in the uncertainty of his own field to bear on the treatments he received for mantle cell lymphoma, a rare condition for which treatments were relatively new. With his wife, Terry, also a scientist, he learned as much as possible about the protocol he had been assigned and read up on his oncologist, a leader in this type of cancer, Dr. Sandra Horning. Schneider gives a detailed account of the painful and otherwise unpleasant side effects of the chemotherapy, radiation and bone-marrow transplant he endured in a determined effort to arrest the disease. From the beginning, the author researched probabilities and outcomes and sought to modify decisions made by his physicians. Most importantly, after some resistance, Dr. Horning agreed to use Rituxan for Schneider as maintenance therapy to prolong his remission. Although the author's scientific language can be daunting, patients will relate to his arguments for the importance of patient advocates, individualization of treatments and the negative role bottom-line accounting plays in medical judgments made by HMOs. (Oct.)
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Review

"An emotional account of the pain and fear [Schneider] felt while he was ill." -- MacLean's, 01/09/06

"Compelling...offers a number of positive and useful messages for patients enduring chemotherapy, radiation, and other cancer treatment." -- Journal of the American Medical Association, 01/11/06

"Offer[s] up distinct and fascinating explorations of the connections between the personal, the public, and the medical." -- Body+Soul December 2005

"Schneider's narrative is lively and engaging...informative but personal." -- Raleigh News & Observer, 12/18/05

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; 1 edition (September 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738210250
• ISBN-13: 978-0738210254
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #935,904 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a superb analysis and inspiring story, September 27, 2005

By 

Marc V. Levine - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Patient from Hell: How I Worked with My Doctors to Get the Best of Modern Medicine and How You Can Too (Hardcover)

Schneider's account is indispensable on many levels. It is a sobering analysis of how the political economy of the health care industry limits treatment options and often results in suboptimal care. It is an instructive case study of how patients can use decisional and probability analysis to discriminate among various treatment options, and use their own research to come up with promising revisions to conventional treatments. Most importantly, it is a gripping and inspiring narrative of how Schneider and his wife worked through the trauma of a brutal lymphoma diagnosis, cogently analyzed treatment options, and persistently partnered with their oncologist to arrive at a satisfactory protocol.

This book will fascinate anyone interested in some of the perversities of our medical system, but it will be particularly compelling and instructive for anyone -- as a patient, spouse or family member-- grappling with life-threatening illnesses and complicated treatment issues.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A logical look at treating cancer, September 27, 2005

By 

Sheilagh Morin (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Patient from Hell: How I Worked with My Doctors to Get the Best of Modern Medicine and How You Can Too (Hardcover)

My husband was diagnosed with incurable cancer in March of 2005. What can you say or do for yourself when an Oncologist tells you; you will die within a few months? What you do is read "Patient from Hell." After reading Dr Schneider's book "Patience from Hell" I had an overwhelming sense of hope for my husband's situation, something I had lost before reading this book. It confirmed my own thoughts that doctors may not know everything there is to know about a specific cancer and new treatments being tested and how you must take your life into your own hands instead of handing your life over to a stranger. The book shows how to talk with doctors to get answers and how important it is for each individual, based on the specific cancer, to do research and learn all you can about your cancer and how to bring those findings to your doctor without bruising the sensitive ego that most medical professionals seem to share. Dr. Schneider shares with his readers the side effects he encountered and how life can go on very close to normal during and after treatment. I am forever grateful to Dr Schneider for sharing his experience with the world. This book is an easy read as well as a must read for anyone fighting cancer or caregivers to cancer patients.
Sheilagh Morin

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Raises more questions than answers, May 21, 2006

By 

Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Patient from Hell: How I Worked with My Doctors to Get the Best of Modern Medicine and How You Can Too (Hardcover)

I have no first-hand experience with the issues discussed here, but I want to be prepared for the day when I will face the Medical Establishment.

While Schneider was successful in his own quest for a cure, the vast majority of patients -- anywhere in the world -- will not be able to duplicate his efforts. Schneider dealt with his oncologist as an equal - both full professors in the same university. He is male and married; doctors tend to patronize and dismiss women in general and single women in particular. And his wife was singularly well-equipped to serve as his advocate: a scientist who could take a sabbatical from her own good job.

Schneider enjoyed financial resources and (apparently) incredibly good medical insurance. His internist was one of those new "no-insurance" doctors who can actually take time with patients.

And Schneider is careful to attack "the system," not the doctors.

But most patients will not be treated the way Schneider was. His doctors seemed polite and respectful. I'm amazed he didn't encounter even one obnoxious nurse.

And if anything, Schneider was far too forgiving. He notes the stupidity of identifying a "nadir" which essentially means drawing a curve from one data point. He accepted unnecessary tests - his oncologist points out, "Even if we found a few cancer cells, we wouldn't know what to do." And his own oncologist skipped a scheduled appointment, not even arranging for a secretary to call and cancel.

Schneider warns us to stop reading if we're already skeptical of the medical establishment, so of course I should have listened! As he might have predicted, this story can actually scare off patients with an unintended lesson: If this is what happens to an educated, elite patient, what happens to everyone else?