An Empowering Guide to Lung Cancer: Six Steps to Taking Charge of Your Care and Your Life

Eric Presser MD

Dec 2016 · ABC-CLIO

About this ebook

Dispelling the commonly held belief that lung cancer is always self-inflicted, this book guides patients, their loved ones, and caregivers through diagnosis, acceptance, and treatment, and provides support and hope to the tens of thousands of people coping with this illness.

Lung cancer is a serious illness—one that is considered among medicine's most dreaded diagnoses. Alone, it's responsible for 29 percent of cancer deaths in the United States and causes more deaths than breast, colon, ovarian, and prostate cancer combined! Additionally, lung cancer isn't typically discovered until it causes symptoms, at which point options are limited and the chances of a cure greatly reduced.

But it doesn't have to be this way. In this book, Dr. Eric Presser provides an empowering, comprehensive guide to lung cancer for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the treatments available, coping with the diagnosis, and dealing with the side effects associated with the disease on both patients and their loved ones. His book offers a complete resource for anyone touched by lung cancer, presenting the latest scientifically tested information to help reduce the rates of illness and infirmity and ultimately make lung cancer a thing of the past.

The book first covers the basic information necessary to understand lung cancer, including lung anatomy. Dr. Presser then identifies the six steps that will with help people cope with lung cancer and take charge of their lives. The final section focuses on nutrition and lung cancer in addition to practical concerns such as health insurance, work and disability, and financial challenges.

Provides a crucial reference that helps patients, caregivers, and loved ones educate themselves and obtain the best possible treatments

Discusses customized chemotherapy; treatment options for early-stage lung cancer, including minimally invasive surgery techniques pioneered by author Dr. Eric Presser; and today's most promising treatments, including multimodality therapy

Examines the latest diagnostic tools for the early detection of lung cancer, emphasizes the importance of cancer staging, and evaluates the range of alternative treatments

Guides readers concerning emotional matters such as telling family members and dealing with guilt, and with the practical needs of late-stage lung cancer patients

About the author

Eric Presser, MD, is an attending thoracic surgeon at First Choice Physician's Practice and an associate professor at the University of California, Riverside, School of Medicine.