- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Scribner; First Printing edition (4 Feb 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0743206770
- ISBN-13: 978-0743206778
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 13.8 x 3.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
62,645 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7 in Books > Science & Nature > Medicine > Medical Sciences A-Z > Surgery > Oncology Surgery
- #7 in Books > Health, Family & Lifestyle > Medical & Healthcare Practitioners > Surgery > Surgical Oncology
- #17 in Books > Science & Nature > Medicine > Diseases & Disorders > Oncology
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
At the age of 54, Michael Gearin-Tosh discovered he had bone marrow cancer. This is the story of his quest to manage and overcome his illness; his determination to not to be coerced into joining programmes of invasive treatments; and his resolve to stand up to the NHS, specialists and colleagues who encouraged him to follow the conventional route as a cancer patient. The author selected a number of regimes and devised his own routine and diets, and six years on he still survives, despite being told he should "expect to die soon". This is not a "how-to" book, but an account of one man's quest to listen to his inner voice of intuition.
About the Author
Michael Gearin-Tosh is a fellow of St Catherine's College, Oxford University where he teaches English Literature, is a founder director of the Oxford School of Drama and a visiting professor in the Overseas Department of Stanford University.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
54 of 54 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
On the day this book was published I heard the author speaking on the radio and I wanted to find out more about his struggle for life. Michael Gearin-Tosh is a literary Oxford Don who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1994. Instead of having the standard chemotherapy (as recommended) he eventually devised for himself a program of therapies based on different theories. His approach included diet therapy, a lot of vitamins and trace elements, coffee enemas, Chinese breathing and visualisation exercises and acupuncture. After 7 years he is still alive and stable, although the myeloma is still present. It is possible that this could have happened anyway, but at diagnosis his expected prognosis was 6-9 months without treatment.
I found it both easy and compelling to read. As a nurse I find it of immense benefit to me to see a thinking man's experience of medical treatment. I was intrigued to see how he analyses the words and language that Drs use in medical consultations and journals to expose hidden meaning beneath it. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading about life experiences and choices.
The book also includes an essay by Michael Gearin-Tosh about how people's temperment and attitudes to treatment can affect how well they do when treated, and a fairly technical case history of his illness.
I found it both easy and compelling to read. As a nurse I find it of immense benefit to me to see a thinking man's experience of medical treatment. I was intrigued to see how he analyses the words and language that Drs use in medical consultations and journals to expose hidden meaning beneath it. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading about life experiences and choices.
The book also includes an essay by Michael Gearin-Tosh about how people's temperment and attitudes to treatment can affect how well they do when treated, and a fairly technical case history of his illness.
33 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
When Michael Gearin Tosh,an Oxford Don, learned he had myeloma, a cancer with a very low survival rate, he rejected chemotherapy in favour of Gerson therary combined with an oriental breathing exercise. This book is a moving and revealing account of how alternative therapies have helped him defy the odds and remain alive and healthy for the last 8 years. The book is controversial as some cancer specialists say it will cause patients to reject life saving chemotherapy for unproven alternatives. However, the point of the book remains valid. Whether you choose chemotherapy, surgery or an alternative approach if you put your whole being into it, mind, body and soul, you have a much greater chance of success. The mind and body are inseperably linked when it comes to healing and alternative therapies should not be dismissed as rubbish. The author is "Living Proof" that they can work, even though we are only just beginning to uncover the science behind them. This book is wonderfully written and a great read.
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
When you are diagnosed with cancer, most "conventional" doctors will urge you to start chemotherapy (or similar treatment) at once. That's what happened to the author of this book as well. However, he choose to ask for a second, a third opinion (etc) and soon found out that for his cancer chemotherapy wouldn't heal him or that others, such as Prosessor Wynder thought "If he touches chemotherapy, he's a goner." (most patients take the doctor's advice and find only later, through a process of gradual disclosure, that doctors can't prove chemotherapy really helps.)
Basically, this patient took the approach you would expect a skeptic to take, but even if you look at this case from a perspective of Evidence Based Medicine and look at the survival rates, I do agree that chemotherapy doesn't appear to be the "appealing" approach. Unfortunately, most people that "preach" skepticism are only skeptic with regards to things that are called "alternative" and do not take this healthy skeptic approach when it comes to "respected sciences" such as conventional medicine.
This book shows (again) that medicine should take a more integral perspective when thinking about healing and that more research is needed for alternative treatments. But then, what do you expect from a medical community where even psychology is considered "unscientific" and with little of no interest for doctors.
I would have loved that my father would have read this and related books before letting chemotherapy kill him. I keep wondering what his fate would have been if he had studied the medical research as Michael did and would have considered alternatives or complements to his unsuccessful treatment. It takes more books like these to get "fair access" to "unconventional" therapies so that lay persons can at least consider that chemotherapy alone won't be enough to survive the cancer.
Other related books you might want to read: John Diamond's: "Because Cowards get cancer too" and Kenny Ausubel's "When Healing becomes a crime".
Patrick E.C.Merlevede
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Interesting but very little Gerson
This book is written more as a year in the life of a cancer patient. There is VERY little info about Gerson Therapy. Read more
Published 9 months ago by AMH
Inspiring Read
A well written account of how you can 'live' with cancer. Obviously doesn't include a magical cure, but supports the research that radically changing your diet can go along way to... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Clazza
Amazing book - highly recommended
Great as a general read an even more powerful if you or a loved one is suffering from cancer - a different approach!
Published 15 months ago by M. Wright James
Provides much food for thought
I have had this on my bookshelf, unread, for some time but as one of my sisters was recently diagnosed with cancer I decided it was time to take it down and read it. Read more
Published 16 months ago by hiljean
Don't build your hopes
The author's journey is interesting but I am not sure what he is living proof of.
He has had an enormous amount of help in coming to terms with and treating his cancer. Read more
He has had an enormous amount of help in coming to terms with and treating his cancer. Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2010 by P. Mcdermott
Must read
I've just finished this book in a matter of hours. This is a must read for any cancer patient or carer, particularly those affected by Myeloma. Read more
Published on 4 Jun 2009 by J. Crewdson
A must read book for anybody thinking twice about traditional cancer...
Having just had a bone marrow test and blood transfusion for my very low haemoglobin, to see if my MGUS had progressed to multiple myeloma, I was delighted to receive and read... Read more
Published on 22 July 2008 by F. Ince
A must for all myeloma sufferers
I read this book soon after being diagnosed with Myeloma and this was fortunate because it gave me the strength to believe in and act on my own instincts... Read more
Published on 5 April 2007 by Carol Madden
A Compelling Read
Once I started this book, I couldn't put it down. Gearin-Tosh has a very easy to read style.
All credit to him for doing his own research and not allowing himself to be... Read more
All credit to him for doing his own research and not allowing himself to be... Read more
Published on 27 May 2006 by Book Worm
fascinating
this is a brave account of a man who dared to question medical authority. Very useful information on how raw food and certain breathing techniques have helped to challange the... Read more
Published on 1 Sep 2002 by Lapwing
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