Choices: The Most Complete Sourcebook for Cancer Information

( 3 )
Pick Up In Store

Pick Up in Store

Reserve and pick up in 60 minutes at your local store

Paperback (Subsequent)
$19.99
BN.com price
Marketplace (New and Used)
from
$0.01
$19.99 List Price (Save 100%)
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
All (40)  
Used (28)  
New (12)  
Close
Sort by
Page 1 of 4
Showing 1 – 10 of 40 (4 pages)
$0.01
(Save 100%)
OwlsBooks-TRM
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(22568)

Condition:

New — never opened or used in original packaging.

Like New — packaging may have been opened. A "Like New" item is suitable to give as a gift.

Very Good — may have minor signs of wear on packaging but item works perfectly and has no damage.

Good — item is in good condition but packaging may have signs of shelf wear/aging or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Acceptable — item is in working order but may show signs of wear such as scratches or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Used — An item that has been opened and may show signs of wear. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Refurbished — A used item that has been renewed or updated and verified to be in proper working condition. Not necessarily completed by the original manufacturer.

Good
Giving great service since 2004: Buy from the Best! 4,000,000 items shipped to delighted customers. We have 1,000,000 unique items ready to ship! Find your Great Buy today!

Ships from: Lakewood, WA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$0.01
(Save 100%)
GreatBuyBooks-WA
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(18248)

Condition: Good
Buy from the best: 4,000,000 items shipped to delighted customers. We have 1,000,000 unique items ready to ship today!

Ships from: Lakewood, WA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$0.25
(Save 99%)
Clickgoodwill
Seller since 2012

Feedback rating:

(81)

Condition: Good
Very minimal damage to the cover no holes or tears, only minimal scuff marks minimal wear binding majority of pages undamaged minimal creases or tears. Book may have writing, ... underlining, highlighting, wear to cover and corners, notes in margins, writing Read more Show Less

Ships from: Indianapolis, IN

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$0.99
(Save 95%)
SuperFlyBooks AZ
Seller since 2008

Feedback rating:

(397)

Condition: Good
2003 Trade paperback 4th ed. Good. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 1136 p. Contains: Illustrations. Choices: The Most Complete Sourcebook for Cancer Information.

Ships from: Phoenix, AZ

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$0.99
(Save 95%)
Alibris NV
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(20386)

Condition: Very Good
2003-10-14 Trade Paperback 4th ed. Very Good Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 1136 p. Contains: Illustrations.

Ships from: Sparks, NV

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 90%)
Free State Books
Seller since 2012

Feedback rating:

(1010)

Condition: Good
Book has a small amount of wear visible on the binding, cover, pages. Free State Books. Never settle for less.

Ships from: Halethorpe, MD

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 90%)
Ukazoo Books
Seller since 2006

Feedback rating:

(10416)

Condition: Acceptable
Book has signs of wear, but remains fully functioning and easily readable.

Ships from: Baltimore, MD

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 90%)
AtlantaBookCompany
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(8063)

Condition: Good
Book shows minor use. Cover and Binding have minimal wear and the pages have only minimal creases. A tradition of southern quality and service. All books guaranteed at the ... Atlanta Book Company. Our mailers are 100% recyclable. Read more Show Less

Ships from: Atlanta, GA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 90%)
Wonder Book
Seller since 2008

Feedback rating:

(13616)

Condition: Acceptable
Acceptable condition.. Former Library book.

Ships from: Frederick, MD

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 90%)
Wonder Book
Seller since 2008

Feedback rating:

(13616)

Condition: Good
Good condition.. Owner's name inside. Fourth Edition.

Ships from: Frederick, MD

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
Page 1 of 4
Showing 1 – 10 of 40 (4 pages)
Close
Sort by

Overview

For more than twenty years, Choices has been the leading source-book for cancer patients and their families. Fully revised to cover the latest medical and technological breakthroughs, Choices, Fourth Edition, provides the most up-to-date and essential facts on cancer, from diagnosis to recovery — medication and nutrition, symptoms and stages, and all available surgical and nonsurgical treatments — in an accessible, easy-to-use Q&A format. The book also includes checklists of essential questions for your doctor; useful Internet resources; a state-by-state listing of cancer-related programs, organizations, and services; reviews of complementary and alternative therapies; updated ...

See more details below
Sending request ...

More About This Book

Overview

For more than twenty years, Choices has been the leading source-book for cancer patients and their families. Fully revised to cover the latest medical and technological breakthroughs, Choices, Fourth Edition, provides the most up-to-date and essential facts on cancer, from diagnosis to recovery — medication and nutrition, symptoms and stages, and all available surgical and nonsurgical treatments — in an accessible, easy-to-use Q&A format. The book also includes checklists of essential questions for your doctor; useful Internet resources; a state-by-state listing of cancer-related programs, organizations, and services; reviews of complementary and alternative therapies; updated listings of chemotherapy drugs and their side effects; the facts on common misconceptions regarding cancer treatments; and advice on practical living concerns for both survivors and caregivers.

Recommended by health-care professionals nationwide, Choices is a unique and invaluable reference. Marion Morra and Eve Potts's clear, compassionate advice is on every page, offering reassurance with the informed knowledge every cancer patient needs to make the right decisions throughout the treatment process.

"One of the leading sourcebooks for cancer patients, it includes the essential facts about symptoms and stages, medicines and nutrition, & surgical and non-surgical treat- ments and therapies...includes alternate medical strategies.

Editorial Reviews

Booknews
A sourcebook for cancer patients and their families, presenting information in question-and-answer format on the latest medical and technological treatment advances, symptoms and stages, and surgical and nonsurgical treatments. Includes a state-by-state listing of cancer-related organizations and services and a dictionary of rare cancers. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780060521240
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
  • Publication date: 10/14/2003
  • Edition description: Subsequent
  • Edition number: 4
  • Pages: 1136
  • Sales rank: 533,175
  • Product dimensions: 6.00 (w) x 9.00 (h) x 1.82 (d)

Meet the Author

Marion Morra, ScD, is an international expert in health communications. Former associate director of the Yale Cancer Center, she is an associate clinical professor at the Yale School of Nursing in New Haven, CT. Widely published, she is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society and of the Board of Directors of the International Cancer Information Services Group. She is a consultant to the National Cancer Institute and many major cancer centers across the country.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One

Facing the Diagnosis

You have the diagnosis. Your doctor has told you that you have cancer. What happens next?

When a diagnosis of cancer is first made, you have the greatest number of choices concerning the kind of treatment best for you. Each decision may make the critical difference in the outcome. The wrong choices close the doors to other options. In order to make informed decisions, you need information, the kind of information that makes it possible for you to seek out the right doctor and hospital as well as sufficient information to make it possible for you to ask the right questions.

You need to put the whole emotional background of having cancer into perspective before you can deal intelligently with the diagnosis of cancer. For many people, the cancer word, the big C, still carries with it the old fears and myths, left over from the days when cancer was incurable. Today, with nearly five million Americans alive and most considered cured of cancer five years or more after their initial diagnosis and treatment, you need to be aware that cancer is considered and treated, in the majority of cases, as a "chronic" illness that can be managed for many years with proper treatment.
  • Cancer is a major illness but it is not necessarily fatal, contrary to what many people still believe.
  • You can have cancer and continue to enjoy life.

Anyone who has had cancer remembers the day the diagnosis was delivered. The mind became a blank. All the nagging fears that had been pushed to the back of consciousness landed in a huge lump in thethroat. The mind raced with dark thoughts of death and wills and horror at the possibilities of dreaded treatments and a limited future.

There's no question that the diagnosis of cancer is one of the low points in life. The real news is that more than half of the people with cancer are considered cured. For some types of cancer, nine out of ten people diagnosed can be considered cured. Many others will live a very long time before dying of cancer. There is hope for every patient. Some are cured at once, by surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Some are never cured, but their disease is controlled so they can expect to live for many, many years. Admittedly, there are some types of cancer where treatments may prolong life for no more than a few months.

It is important for you to know at the outset what category your type of cancer is so that you will not be worrying unnecessarily and so that you will be dealing with reality when you make decisions about your treatments and how you will be living your life. You need full information to make certain that you will be getting the very best possible treatment for your cancer as well as for your coping style, personality and living style. The best place to begin in collecting information, of course, is with your doctor. But, you need to search out further information on your own if you plan to be an involved consumer. The best place to start is by gettinginformation from the National Cancer Institute, where ongoing research puts cutting edge information at your fingertips.

Facts You Need To Know About Cancer

  • Over eight million Americans alive today have a history of cancer.
  • Five million Americans are alive who were diagnosed with cancer five or more years ago.
  • Most of the five million can be considered cured.
  • Cured means that the person has no evidence of disease and has the same life expectancy as a person who never had cancer.
  • In 1994, about 1,170,000 new cancer cases will be diagnosed. This figure excludes those who have basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers, an additional 700,000 cases per year.
  • Things have changed. In the early 1900s, most cancer patients had no hope of long-term survival. In the 1930s, less than one in five was alive five years after treatment. In the 1940s, it was one in four, and in the 1960s, one in three.
  • Today, statistics show that when adjusted for normal life expectancy, a relative five-year survival rate of 52 percent is seen for all cancers.
Once you know you have cancer, you can live in fear, or you can learn to live with the facts and begin to do positive things to help yourself. Knowing the facts and facing them takes a lot of the scare away.Here are some basics for starters. Check them and see how many coincide with your own thinking.
  • The fact that you have cancer cannot be changed. The time that is most important in decision making is right now, at the very start, when numerous alternatives are open to you.
  • You must look at all the alternatives. If you make a decision to go ahead with surgery without sufficient testing or a second opinion, you limit the possibility for other choices.
  • Unless you stay calm and in control, a decision will be made for you by circumstances that will take it out of your control. Don't be afraid to say: "I'm going to take the time to learn all I can about this cancer and the options I have available to me before I do anything."
  • Caution: This does not mean postponing taking action. It means postponing starting treatment until you are personally assured that you're taking the right steps.
  • As a cancer patient, you must be an activist. You must become a partner with your doctors in the fight so you can live your life in the way that is best for you.
  • You have a right to ask questions just as you would as a consumer of any product or service. However, you need to learn what questions to ask, what the terminology means, and what the realistic possibilities are.

First Chapter

Choices, Fourth Edition

Chapter One

Facing the Diagnosis


A cancer diagnosis -- no matter what kind of cancer it is -- makes you feel like you've been left dangling off the cliff of life. Days of testing, bone scans, CT scans, MRIs, x-rays, and blood tests are followed by days of growing fear while you wait for the final answer. Then, the solemn pronouncement that you have cancer and with it the feeling that life will never be the same again. And not only your life -- but also the lives of everyone around you.

No one disputes the fact that your life will be changed by your diagnosis. But try not to panic. This is NOT the end of the world. This is not the end of your life. This is the moment when you need to take control and call up your inner will to live and your determination to learn all you can about what is happening to you.

There is so much going on in every kind of cancer treatment that you have every reason to feel positive about the possibility of being cured. We have seen dozens of patients who made dramatic recoveries, when ten years ago they would have had no hope for living another year. We know people who just one year ago would have died were it not for the fact that they received the very newest treatments. We know many who have had chronic cases of cancer, who have been treated, lived a few disease-free years, and then discovered that the cancer returned. They have been treated again. They've gone back into patient mode, gone through another round of treatments, and recovered again. Each time they've survived, they've gained a bit more time to test out newer treatments with fewer side effects and better effectiveness. The bottom line is: cancer isn't what it used to be.

We are extremely optimistic about the treatments that continue to come to the marketplace or are on the near horizon. We have researched every resource to give you as much information as possible on the many different kinds of treatments available as well as the very newest thinking and experiments that are presently being tested.

Cancer is a chronic disease with many possibilities for cure. Position yourself to take advantage of every possibility for being one of those who is cured. And always remember, people have survived every type of cancer, at every stage.

What happens now?

This is the moment when you have the greatest number of choices concerning the kind of treatment best for you and you are faced with making decisions about how you will proceed. Each decision may make a critical difference in the outcome. The wrong choices close the doors to other options. In order to make informed decisions, you need information, the kind of information that makes it possible for you to seek out the right doctor and hospital as well as sufficient information to make it possible for you to ask the right questions.

You need to put the whole emotional background of having cancer into perspective before you can deal intelligently with the diagnosis of cancer. For many people, the cancer word -- the big C -- still carries with it the old fears and myths, left over from the days when cancer was incurable. Today, with nearly nine million people alive with a history of cancer, you need to be aware that in the vast majority of cases, cancer is considered and treated as a "chronic" illness that can be managed for many years with proper treatment.

Cancer is a major illness but it is not necessarily fatal, contrary to what many people still believe.

You can have cancer and continue to enjoy life.

There's no question that the diagnosis of cancer is one of the low points in life. The real news is that many people are being cured. For some types of cancer, nine out of ten people diagnosed can be considered cured. Many others will live a very long time before dying of cancer. There is hope for every patient. Some are cured at once, by surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Some are never cured, but their disease is controlled so they can expect to live for many, many years. Admittedly, there are some types of cancer where treatments are only able to prolong life for a few months, but those cases are in the minority.

It is important for you to know at the outset what category your type of cancer is so that you will not be worrying unnecessarily and so that you will be dealing with reality when you make decisions about your treatments and how you will be living your life. Specifically, you need to know the type of cancer, the stage of the cancer, whether it has spread to any other site, and if there are tumor markers that are used to track your cancer. You need full information to make certain that you will be getting the very best possible treatment for your cancer as well as for your coping style, personality, and living style.

The best place to begin in collecting information, of course, is with your doctor. But, you need to search out further information on your own if you plan to be an involved consumer. Our favorite first information stop is the National Cancer Institute (NCI), where ongoing research puts cutting-edge information at your fingertips through its Cancer Information Service telephone line, 1 -800-4-CANCER, and Web site (www.cancer.gov). Our favorite search engine is Google, where you can put in a few words and get access to a wealth of information. If you are looking for community-oriented information, try the American Cancer Society, 1-800-ACS-2345, and its Web site (www.cancer.org). See Chapter 2, Searching for Answers on the Web, as well as information at the end of each chapter on specific cancers for additional Internet sources ...

This book is designed to give information for your personal knowledge on various treatments and procedures relating to cancer and to help you be a more informed about such matters. It is not intended to be complete or exhaustive, nor is it a substitute for the advice of your physician. The desig-nations that treatments are standard or under clinical evaluation are not to be used as a basis for reimbursement determinations.

Choices, Fourth Edition. Copyright © by Marion Morra. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 3 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(2)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(1)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identiy on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

We're sorry, but penname is already taken.

Please select one of the following:
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

penname is available!

By visiting the BN.com website or marking a purchase on BN.com, a User is deemed to have accepted the Terms of Use.

Continue Anonymously

Welcome, penname

You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.

Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews

  • Posted January 7, 2009

    BEST Resource Guide Available

    25 yrs. ago this book was recommended to me by my Oncologist at Kaiser in Walnut Creek, CA, and it is the BEST informational guide I have found. 25 yrs. later I am still using and recommending this book to cancer victims and survivors. Every time a new publication comes out I purchase it. The authors have done an excellent job in providing information that people of all ages and educational background can comprehend. It is the most used book in our Home Library. D.A. Clark

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 23, 2002

    the bible for any person facing Cancer!

    I've had 3 plus different kinds of cancer and this book has helped me understand what I was about to face and the decisions I would need to make. It answers my every question at any hour of the day or night when they popped into my head. The unknown became less frightening, and I got it in terms I could understand. I've given this book to everyone I've known who was faceing this "Beast we call Cancer" and to a person everyone has thanked me many times over. Not all have made it but everyone of them fought a better fight knowing what was at stake and with a dignity they were proud of.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 23, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)
500 character limit