Description

One of the greatest challenges that patients and their families face is how to evaluate and act on medical advice. Swept up in the rush of events, anxious about the prognosis, facing a blur of technical jargon, fatigued from worry or pain, and often reluctant to question the doctor, people who are ill are easily overwhelmed by clinical choices. In Second Opinions, Jerome Groopman provides a unique insider's view of how patients and doctors make critical medical decisions. These eight real life stories prepare us to navigate the uncertain and changing world of medicine.

Excerpts:

• Prologue
  
• A Routine Case of Asthma

Reviews:

• "Through vivid accounts of the dilemmas he has faced -- not only as a doctor, but as a patient, a parent, a grandson and a friend -- he illuminates the art, and the perils of interpreting other people's symptoms."
  -Newsweek
  
  
• "Compelling... Dr. Groopman ... knows how to spin a good medical yarn... Each of the parables in this book... teaches us how medical decisions are made, both wisely and unwisely. They also teach us something about how to evaluate the medical advice we receive."
  -The Wall Street Journal



• "The eight skillfully crafted medical dramas that make up Second Opinions... are riveting and compelling contemplations on making decisions when there are no good ones."
  -The Boston Globe



• "Lucid and brave in its willingness to challenge the medical establishments self-protective code of silence and to suggest that the patient become a more informed and skeptical consumer, Second Opinions is a welcome, cautionary reminder that should be read carefully, thoughtfully, and long before we find ourselves in the disorienting throes of a critical health emergency."
  -Elle



• "Groopman...writes expressively and compassionately about illness...an excellent book by a thoughtful physician."
  -Publisher's Weekly