Doctor Writes Guide for Cancer Patients
boston.com
NORWALK, Conn.—As director of Whittingham Cancer Center at Norwalk Hospital and medical director of the Mid-Fairfield Hospice, Dr. Richard Frank is reminded daily of the needs of cancer patients and the loved ones in their support networks.
While giant strides are being made in areas ranging from treatment to patient comfort, Frank found that written information that explains cancer -- and many of the factors that surround it -- in plain, understandable language was lacking. His observation was supported by what he would hear from patients.
Nearly eight years ago, Frank began thinking about a book that would address the questions and concerns of his patients. If they needed certain questions answered and concepts defined, the greater population would as well.
"Time and again patients would come in saying, 'What the hell is 'this' ?" Frank says. "I was a sponge for five years, patients would say something that would ring a bell for me. We would talk about the process of metastasis and someone would ask something that was very compelling."
His book "
Fighting Cancer With Knowledge And Hope: A Guide for Patients, Families and Health Care Providers" was published last week by Yale University Press. "Listening to my patients, I realized they needed a better resource than was out there to more clearly explain cancer in a realistic, nonthreatening manner," Frank says.
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