Adult Leukemia: A Comprehensive Guide for Patients and Families (Paperback)

~ Barbara Lackritz (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Part of the "Patient-Centered Guides" series, this book combines extensive medical information, practical information, and emotional support for patients and caregivers. Like most disease-specific books, it begins with an extensive overview of the affliction and its signs, symptoms, and diagnosis. Subsequent chapters include tests and procedures; subtypes, stagings, and prognoses; risks and causes; treatment options; communication with medical personnel; treatment side effects; and getting support. Chapters on insurance and finances and life after treatment are especially useful, as are sections on normal blood values and the glossary. Author Lackritz was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in her early 50s. The book reflects the wisdom of someone who has "been there," and her memoirs (and those of leukemia survivors and families) are woven throughout. While the book provides a good overview of different types of leukemias, its primary audience is those who are directly affected by the disease. Recommended for large consumer health collections.DValeria Long, Grand Valley State Univ. Lib. at the Van Andel Inst., Grand Rapids, MI
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

For the tens of thousands of Americans with adult leukemia, the condition, which is really a group of diseases, is often a baffling one for patients and families to understand, and finding targeted information on individual conditions can be difficult. In straightforward language, Adult Leukemia: A Comprehensive Guide for Patients and Families addresses:

Diagnosis and medical testsFinding a good oncologistTreatmentsSide effectsEmotional responses to diagnosis, treatment, remission, possible recurrenceGetting support from your family, friends, employers, and the broader community

Author Barb "Grannybarb" Lackritz is a leading patient activist in the leukemia community and herself a long-term leukemia survivor. She emphasizes the promising emerging treatments for leukemia, covering in depth the clinical trials of new therapies grounded in Western medicine. The research information, glossary, and appendixes will provide welcome support for those who want to keep up with the latest research.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 536 pages
• Publisher: Patient Center Guides; 1 edition (April 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596500017
• ISBN-13: 978-0596500016
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #120,212 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vital Reference, April 9, 2001

By A Customer

Barbara Lackritz has written the most comprehensive and well-documented resource on adult leukemias. I wish I had been given access to this information upon diagnosis four years ago, and have bought copies for friends and family, and am recommending it to my physicians. A lot of information about adult leukemias is now available online, but GrannyBarb's book is the essential resource for discovering where to go, who to see, how to cope, and what these diseases mean. Patients, family, and attending physicians can all benefit from this marvelous work by a victorious CLL patient that has been reviewed by the top hematologists/oncologists and other technical experts.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Could be better, October 19, 2005

By	Laura A. Day (Sandwich, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Having been dx'd with AML I wanted a comprehensive but understandable text to keep near by and refer to as the situation warranted. At first I found it helpdul but then I had more complex questions and the answers were not there. Specifically I needed a better explanation of all the CD's and their effect , affect, I never know which to use, on my leukemia. I also needed much more information on blasts and what different levels indicate. I felt that side effects of chemo and drugs needed to be addressed more thoroughly, and GVHD certainly needed much more space.
I would say this is a fine starting point but does not have all the answers. Oh, I found the anecdotes nothing but space wasting

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leukemians' Bible, August 9, 2001

By	Stephen R. Sprague (Staten Island, NY USA) - See all my reviews

Whether you're the patient (like I was) or family, friend or caregiver to one, its one of the first things most people do when diagnosed with leukemia. You look for more information. You'll find lots of books about cancer. But very few specifically about adult leukemia. GrannyBarb has certainly put it all together for us. And you can benefit by as much or as little as you choose to use. There is no other book like this one. I've looked. I only wish it were written five years sooner. It would have saved this CML survivor a lot of wasted time and energy searching for factual information, authoritatively written in patient-speak--the language we need in order to understand better to recover quicker.