How we do harm : a doctor breaks ranks about being sick in America

American medicine is infected. Greed, apathy, and ignorance are the pathogens. Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, has seen enough. In this no-holds-barred peek at the contemporary health scene, he relishes his role as a rabble-rouser. Drawing on true stories to make his points, Brawley, aided by coauthor Goldberg, illustrates how more care is not better care and that doctors are not necessarily right. Many of these clinical cases conjure frustration, heartache, and outrage. A middle-aged woman comes to the hospital because her breast has fallen off (an automastectomy). She has disregarded the presence of breast cancer for nine years. A 23-year-old man with congenital heart disease and cardiac arrhythmia shows up at the ER about every other month in need of electrical cardioversion. Without health insurance, he cannot obtain an implantable defibrillator. At his wife's urging, a healthy retired man goes for a free screening PSA blood test. He receives much more than he bargained for: a radical prostatectomy, incontinence, and a colostomy. The benefits of any medical treatment must always be balanced with the potential for harm. Brawley finds the right formula for mixing autobiography, the politics of modern medicine, controversies in cancer care, and wisdom. --Booklist (Check Catalog)