About the Book
Dr. Otis Brawley is the chief medical and scientific officer of the American Cancer Society, an oncologist with a dazzling clinical, research, and policy career. In "How We Do Harm" he exposes the underbelly of healthcare today - the under treatment of the poor, the over treatment of the rich, the financial conflicts of interests physicians face, insurance that doesn't demand the best (or even cheapest) care, and a pharmaceutical behemoth concerned with selling drugs, not providing health. "How We Do Harm" is a call for rational care, drawn from results-based, scientifically reproducible treatments and protocols based on science, and not the new, hot drug. Guided by the maxim he learned in Jesuit high school, "say what you know, what you don't know, and what you believe - and label it accordingly," Dr. Brawley believes scepticism should be the mainstream. D r. Brawley's personal history serves as a window into an experienced and passionate view of medicine and the politics of treatment, and How We Do Harm is his well-reasoned manifesto for change.
About the Author :
DR. OTIS BRAWLEY is the chief medical and scientific officer and executive vice president of the American Cancer Society. Dr. Brawley currently serves as professor of hematology, oncology, medicine and epidemiology at Emory University. He is also a CNN medical consultant. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine, and completed a residency in internal medicine at University Hospitals of Cleveland, Case-Western Reserve University, and a fellowship in medical oncology at the National Cancer Institute.
PAUL GOLDBERG is an award-winning investigative reporter who covers oncology for The Cancer Letter, a weekly publication focused on drug development and the politics of cancer. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Washington Monthly and he has been featured on 60 Minutes, 20/20, CNN and NPR. Goldberg is also the author of two books on the Soviet human rights movement.
Review :
"My friend and colleague Otis Brawley has written a raw and honest portrayal of our health care system. There are certain to be special interest organizations and medical groups that take issue with Dr.Brawley's conclusions, but few can argue with the scientific rigor he has demonstrated in writing this book. Otis is the go- to oncologist I send so many patients to see, because he is not only a great doctor, but also a compassionate man. As we discuss the transformation of health care in this country, put Dr. Brawley's book at the top of your list." --Sanjay Gupta, Associate Chief of Neurosurgery Grady Memorial Hospital, Chief Medical Correspondent, CNN
"Otis Brawley is one of America's truly outstanding physician scientists. In How We Do Harm, he challenges all of us-- physicians, patients, and communities-- to recommit ourselves to the pledge to 'do no harm.'" --David Satcher, Former Surgeon General of the United States,
Director, Satcher Health Leadership Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine
"Sweeping, honest and brave . . . "How We Do Harm" dazzles with a wealth of scientific insight, but its genius lies in the author's recounting of individual patient stories that illuminate the dark underbelly of medicine's missteps. Brawley does not shrink from revealing medicine's warts, butthis book offers much more. It is a triumph of humanity and clarity in which oncology becomes a Rorschach for the practice of American medicine. You will finish this arresting book reluctantly, with a new appreciation of what American medicine could be." --Harriet A .Washington, author of "Deadly Monopolies: The Shocking Corporate Takeover of Life Itself and the Consequences for Your Health and Our Medical Future "and" Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present"
"Dr. Brawley is a premier academic oncologist and a minority doctor in the nation's largest inner city hospital. "How We Do Harm
"Otis Brawley is one of America's truly outstanding physician scientists. In How We Do Harm, he challenges all of us-- physicians, patients, and communities-- to recommit ourselves to the pledge to 'do no harm.'" --David Satcher, Former Surgeon General of the United States,
Director, Satcher Health Leadership Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine
"Sweeping, honest and brave . . . "How We Do Harm" dazzles with a wealth of scientific insight, but its genius lies in the author's recounting of individual patient stories that illuminate the dark underbelly of medicine's missteps. Brawley does not shrink from revealing medicine's warts, butthis book offers much more. It is a triumph of humanity and clarity in which oncology becomes a Rorschach for the practice of American medicine. You will finish this arresting book reluctantly, with a new appreciation of what American medicine could be." --Harriet A .Washington, author of "Deadly Monopolies: The Shocking Corporate Takeover of
"Dr. Brawley is a premier academic oncologist and a minority doctor in the nation's largest inner city hospital. "How We Do Harm" places in stark contrast the health care resources available to the rich and the poor, the insured and the uninsured, the white community and the community of color . He makes the cogent point that more testing, screening, and interventions available to the rich does not always mean better medical care ." --Bruce Chabner, MD, Director of Clinical Research, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center
