Power to the Patient: The Treatments to Insist on When You're Sick - Hardcover

Dr. Rosenfeld is the Rossi Distinguished Professor of Clinical Medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and an attending physician at New York Presbyterian Hospital and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He lives in Westchester, New York.

Rosenfeld, who has written popularly and extensively about health issues, dips into the well once more, this time organizing his material around common diseases. Here the hook is the last few paragraphs of each of the 40 entries that encapsulate what tests and medicines patients should ask for as well as when to demand a second opinion or hospitalization. But all of the information--detailing the maladies, how they affect the body, how to manage the illness, and various treatment options--is strong. Although Rosenfeld writes in clear, direct language, sometimes he doesn't write quite enough. For instance, he tells women patients to insist on having their hormone levels checked to determine proper doses of hormone replacement therapy, but he doesn't spell out which hormones. For most people with common ailments, this will be a good place to start researching their illnesses or complaints. Whether everyone will appreciate his humor is another question. His chapter on acne is subtitled "When Zits Are the Pits." For Alzheimer's disease, it's "Forget about It." Ilene Cooper
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