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Port in the Storm: How to Make a Medical Decision & Live to Tell About It »
Authors: Cole A. Giller
ISBN-13: 9780895261328, ISBN-10: 0895261324
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Regnery Publishing, Inc., An Eagle Publishing Company
Date Published: December 2003
Edition: (Non-applicable)
Author Biography: Cole A. Giller
Book Synopsis
In this book Dr, Giller shares his knowledge on how to sift through the multitude of information available and make a medical decision that fits YOUR needs.
Table of Contents
| Preface | xiii | |
| Acknowledgments | xvii | |
| Why Read This Book? | xix | |
| Part I | Basics | |
| Chapter 1 | The Decision Crisis | 3 |
| Changes, Changes | 4 | |
| Medical Decisions: Not What They Used to Be | 4 | |
| Information Is Not Enough | 6 | |
| Chapter 2 | The Basic Nature of Medical Decisions | 9 |
| You Are Not Alone | 9 | |
| You Are Not Yourself | 10 | |
| What Is a Decision? | 11 | |
| Why Decisions Hurt | 12 | |
| Decisions Are Relative | 13 | |
| Chapter 3 | Some Philosophical Principles | 17 |
| Realize That You Have Decisions | 17 | |
| Realize That You Must Decide | 18 | |
| Realize That Life Is Hard | 19 | |
| Realize That Everything Has Risks | 20 | |
| Who Is as Important as What | 21 | |
| You Need a Captain of Your Ship | 22 | |
| Don't Fight Yourself | 24 | |
| Take Some Breaks | 25 | |
| Part II | The Six Steps of Medical Decision Making | |
| Chapter 4 | An Introduction to the Six Steps of Medical Decision Making | 29 |
| How We Decide: The Theory | 30 | |
| How We Decide: A Practical Six-Step Plan | 31 | |
| Step 1 | Identification of Your Options | 31 |
| Step 2 | Identification of Tradeoffs | 32 |
| Step 3 | Discovery of Data | 33 |
| Step 4 | Interpretation of Numbers | 34 |
| Step 5 | Gathering Your Beliefs | 35 |
| Step 6 | Contemplation of Meaning | 38 |
| Chapter 5 | Step 1: Identification of Your Options | 41 |
| Use Your Sources | 42 | |
| Can I Really Talk to My Doctors? | 42 | |
| Keep an Open Mind | 42 | |
| Where to Go for Your Medical Care | 43 | |
| How to Find and Be Seen at Outside Medical Centers | 45 | |
| The Small-Town Syndrome | 46 | |
| Whom to Choose for Your Medical Care | 47 | |
| Be on the Lookout | 48 | |
| Chapter 6 | Step 2: Identification of Tradeoffs | 49 |
| You've Been Framed! | 49 | |
| How to Shift Frames | 51 | |
| Search for Difficult Tradeoffs | 53 | |
| Chapter 7 | Step 3: Discovery of Data | 55 |
| Preparing to Search | 55 | |
| It's Harder Than You Think | 55 | |
| Reasonable Expectations | 56 | |
| Do Your Homework | 57 | |
| Make Sure It's About You | 58 | |
| Seek Painful Information | 59 | |
| All Sources Have an Agenda | 60 | |
| Nobody Tells It Straight | 61 | |
| The Sources | 63 | |
| Books | 63 | |
| Medical Books | 63 | |
| How to Use a Medical Textbook | 65 | |
| Reference Books | 67 | |
| A Warning | 67 | |
| Suggested Medical Textbooks and Reference Books | 68 | |
| Articles | 72 | |
| Medical Articles | 72 | |
| How to Read a Medical Article | 74 | |
| Practice Guidelines | 77 | |
| Newsletters, Newspapers, Television, and Advertisements | 78 | |
| The Internet | 81 | |
| Beware the Internet | 83 | |
| Tips for Internet Use | 84 | |
| Before We Begin: One More Word | 86 | |
| Suggested Medical Web Sites | 87 | |
| How to Search the Web for Medical Web Sites | 96 | |
| How to Look at a Medical Web Site | 98 | |
| How to Use PubMed | 99 | |
| Final Words | 101 | |
| Friends and Family | 101 | |
| Individuals | 101 | |
| Groups | 103 | |
| How to Benefit from Friends and Family | 106 | |
| Your Doctors | 107 | |
| A Suggested Strategy for Finding Medical Information | 107 | |
| Chapter 8 | Step 4: Interpretation of Numbers | 109 |
| Building Skepticism | 109 | |
| Trust No One, Believe Nothing | 110 | |
| ... But You Must Trust Your Sources | 111 | |
| Go Beyond Words | 112 | |
| It's All in How You Say It | 112 | |
| It's All in How You Frame It | 113 | |
| How Much Information Is Enough? | 116 | |
| What if There Aren't Any Numbers? | 117 | |
| Timing Isn't Everything | 118 | |
| The Mathematics and Statistics of Decision Making | 119 | |
| How to Interpret Percentages | 120 | |
| Pitfalls and Special Circumstances of Percentages | 123 | |
| The Myth of Zero Risk | 126 | |
| Statistics Made Easy | 127 | |
| How to Evaluate a Medical Test | 128 | |
| More Tests: Backward and Forward | 131 | |
| What Happens for Two Events? | 132 | |
| When There Are Multiple Options | 133 | |
| Chapter 9 | Step 5: Gathering Your Beliefs | 137 |
| Personal Beliefs | 138 | |
| What Do You Believe? And Why? | 138 | |
| We See What We Want to See | 139 | |
| Judging Books by Their Covers | 140 | |
| Beliefs in Wishes and Control | 141 | |
| Beliefs in Happy Endings | 143 | |
| Beliefs in Medicine | 144 | |
| Beliefs About Moral Questions | 145 | |
| Challenge Your Beliefs | 146 | |
| Hope versus Reality | 148 | |
| Beliefs about Data | 148 | |
| Beliefs Based on Coincidence: Why We Know What Isn't So | 149 | |
| Coincidence versus the Scientific Method | 151 | |
| Beliefs Based on Small Numbers | 153 | |
| Beliefs Based on Bad Choices: Selection Bias | 155 | |
| Beliefs Based on Single Reports | 156 | |
| The Need for a Guide | 157 | |
| Beliefs About Testimonials | 158 | |
| Chapter 10 | Step 6: Contemplation of Meaning | 163 |
| Sleep On It! | 164 | |
| The Road to Meaning | 165 | |
| Use Your Imagination | 166 | |
| Repeat It Over and Over | 168 | |
| Keep Notes | 168 | |
| The Meaning of Risk | 169 | |
| The Meaning of Details | 170 | |
| The Meaning of Inconvenience | 172 | |
| The Meaning of the Past | 174 | |
| The Meaning of Style | 175 | |
| Thinking the Unthinkable | 176 | |
| The Meaning of Faith | 177 | |
| Part III | How to Use Your Doctors | |
| Chapter 11 | Ambivalence, Anger, and Acceptance | 181 |
| Ambivalence | 181 | |
| Anger | 182 | |
| Do We Really Want a Vote? | 183 | |
| Acceptance | 184 | |
| Chapter 12 | Managing Your Doctors | 187 |
| Finding Doctors | 187 | |
| Do I Need a Doctor? | 187 | |
| Second Opinions | 188 | |
| Small Town versus Big Center | 188 | |
| Practical Tips for the Appointment | 189 | |
| The Use of Doctors | 192 | |
| Use Your Doctor as a Provider | 193 | |
| Don't Use Your Doctor as a Friend | 194 | |
| Don't Use Yourself as a Doctor | 195 | |
| Use Your Doctor as a Doctor | 196 | |
| The Use of Doctors-Recap | 197 | |
| How to Interpret Your Doctor | 197 | |
| Beware Pollyanna | 197 | |
| Facts, Opinions, and Value Judgments | 199 | |
| Expect a Spectrum | 200 | |
| Doctors with Hammers | 200 | |
| Multiple Doctors and Captains | 201 | |
| The Myth of Informed Consent | 201 | |
| Chapter 13 | When Doctors Disagree | 205 |
| Know the Issues | 206 | |
| Know Your Doctors | 206 | |
| Seek Other Opinions | 207 | |
| Lump Them Together | 208 | |
| Rejecting the Doctor's Advice | 208 | |
| Part IV | Deciding for Others | |
| Chapter 14 | Deciding for Friends and Family | 213 |
| The Thoughts of Others | 214 | |
| Relationship Dynamics | 215 | |
| Chapter 15 | Deciding for Children | 217 |
| General Thoughts: Anxiety and Trust | 218 | |
| When Parents Disagree | 219 | |
| Does the Child Get a Vote? | 220 | |
| Part V | Special Problems | |
| Chapter 16 | Pitfalls | 223 |
| Some Decision Don'ts | 223 | |
| Remembering It All | 225 | |
| Insurance and Financial Matters | 228 | |
| What If Your Can't Decide? | 230 | |
| Chapter 17 | Special Decisions | 233 |
| Choosing to Do Nothing | 233 | |
| When There Isn't Time | 234 | |
| Deciding About Medical Testing | 236 | |
| Deciding to Participate in Experimental Trials | 237 | |
| Deciding About Alternative Treatments | 239 | |
| When There's No Hope | 240 | |
| Part VI | You've Made Your Decision; Now What? | |
| Chapter 18 | How to Know When Your Medical Decision Is Good | 243 |
| Two Criteria | 244 | |
| Changing Your Mind | 245 | |
| Chapter 19 | The Good and Bad of Afterward | 247 |
| Afterward: When Things Go Wrong | 247 | |
| Afterward: When Things Go Right | 249 | |
| Part VII | How to Begin | |
| Chapter 20 | An Example: Cancer | 253 |
| Step 1 | Identification of Your Options | 254 |
| Step 2 | Identification of Tradeoffs | 254 |
| Step 3 | Discovery of Data | 255 |
| Step 4 | Interpretation of Numbers | 255 |
| Step 5 | Gathering Your Beliefs | 255 |
| Step 6 | Contemplation of Meaning | 256 |
| Recommended Reading | 259 | |
| Index | 261 |
Subjects
