[.ca] Living Proof: A Medical Mutiny (ISBN 1416577513)

glorification of quackery:
First off, I did not read this book and have no intention of reading it. But from a sense of public duty, I feel compelled to post a comment about it based on a review of same in the new york times review of books. I am a multiple myeloma patient who has successfully undergone conventional and high dose therapy with a bone marrow transplant. This book is dangerous! If you are diagnosed with this disease consult any number of qualified, reputable experts in this disease. Go to the website for the multiple myeloma foundation. Please eschew snake-oil treatments. And keep in mind that the treatments have advanced greatly since 1994 both in terms of effectiveness, survival and reduction and management of side-effects.

What we read can save us:
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.

Response to William of Ohio:
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.

Questionable cure:
I read Professor Gearin-Tosh's book, Living Proof with mixed feelings. After plowing through page after page of language parsings and philosophical arguments, My thoughts about the homeopathic treatments he writes about are still mostly negative. His talent is with language and literature, and it shows. I simply can't rationalize that dietary supplements are cures! If that were the case, I reason, this terrible disease could readily be tamed. Unfortunately, in the real world, it is not; survival rates, no matter what courses are taken, are abysmal. Compelling arguments throughout the book have been made supporting his juice diets, vitamin-mineral supplements and coffee enemas. Towards the end of the book, Dr. Carmen Wheatley writes an electrifying and insightful essay entitled: "The Case of the .005% Survivor". It is an excellent investigation and case study of Multiple Myeloma. I still tend to look more favorably to conventional treatments with COMPETENT oncologists.

A Valuable Resource ! Thank You M. Gearin-Tosh.:
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.