Medical Diseases

After a full-throttle brain bleed at the age of 25, Ashok Rajamani, a first-generationIndian American, had to relearn everything: how to eat, how to walk and speak, even things as basic as his sexual orientation. With humor and insight, he describes the events of that day - his brain exploded just before his brother's wedding - as well as the long, difficult recovery period. In the process, he introduces listeners to his family - his principal support group, as well as a constant source of frustration and amazement.

This taut yet lyrical memoir tells of the author’s experience with a baffling illness poised to take her sight, and gives a deeply felt meditation on vulnerability and on what it means to lose the faith you had and find something better. One day at the end of 2009, during a routine eye exam that Nora Gallagher nearly skipped, her doctor said, “Darn.” Her right optic nerve was inflamed, the cause unknown, a condition that if left untreated would cause her to lose her sight.

The word conquer has changed meaning for Bryan Anderson. As a U.S. army sergeant in Iraq, it meant taking down the enemy. After becoming Iraq’s fourth triple amputee from a roadside explosive, what he had to conquer got a bit more personal. On October 23, 2005, the moment Bryan looked down and realized he no longer had legs, he cracked a joke. It was a tragedy that could break many, but Bryan transformed it into something positive, something that propelled him forward.

Surviving Myotonic Dystrophy is about Ann S. Woodbury’s struggle to care for her family who have a rare disease - myotonic dystrophy (DM). Ann’s four children and her husband have DM. In 1998, at the time of the diagnosis, even the doctors didn’t know all of the effects of DM or that it was a brain disorder. Listening to this book will take you on a journey of understanding this disease and its effects on Ann’s family members.

Straight out of today’s hospitals and labs–and tomorrow’s headlines–comes a frightening, scalpel-sharp thriller from medical insider Joshua Spanogle. In an astounding debut, Spanogle takes us on an all-too-real race against time…as a young doctor enters the dark side of scientific research, desperate to stop a terrifying epidemic before it is too late….

Bettina Greschner hat sich lange Zeit ihres Leben nicht erwünscht und nie gut genug gefühlt. Das Leben ging nicht gerade zimperlich mit ihr um. Aufgewachsen mit einem alkoholabhängigen Elternteil, der tödliche Verlust des Lebenspartners kurz vor der geplanten Hochzeit, 2011 die Diagnose "Brustkrebs" und zeitgleich die Selbständigkeit mit einem Möbelgeschäft, welche damals unter keinem guten Stern stand. Was nun? Warten bis es noch schlimmer wird und noch weiter bergab geht? Nein! Das war keine Option.

Bradwel reminds us that the centenary of this apparent "wonder drug" should be no cause for celebration. Insulin often remains inaccessible to those who need it most: elusive prescriptions, uneven availability and sky-high prices result in rationing and desperate do-it-yourself research and development. In the face of bootstraps rhetoric and "Pharma Bro" capitalists, patients across the world are left to fend for themselves. There is a long way to go in the twenty-first century until insulin truly fulfills the extraordinary promises made by its discovery.

It's Saturday, and everything is different. No, I didn't go to the market this morning, and I didn't have my usual coffee on Westerstraat. And no, I wasn't getting ready for a new semester at college. Next Monday, January 31, I have to admit myself at the hospital for my first chemotherapy session. For the next two months, I'm expected each week for a fresh shot of vincristine, etoposide, ifosfamide, and loads more exciting abracadabra.

Cancer can result from abnormal proliferation of any of the different kinds of cells in the body, so there are more than 100 distinct types of cancer, which can vary substantially in their behavior and response to treatment. Cancer occurs when cell division gets out of control. One of the fundamental features of cancer is tumor clonality, the development of tumors from single cells that begin to proliferate abnormally. Rare cancers are any tumors that involve a small percentage of the population in any age group.

Anticipating a career in medicine, Dr. William A. Haseltine was in his first weeks of graduate studies at Harvard when a legendary physician-scientist offered this advice: “You can do more for human health through science than you ever could as a doctor.” That advice hit him “like a thunderbolt” - and he took it. Since then, Dr. Haseltine has helped combat cancers, worked to contain the HIV/AIDS pandemic and unlocked the power of the human genome to develop dozens of new pharmaceutical cures.

At 49 years old, Carol Clupny was an active, driven woman with a career, a family, and a zest for adventure. A mere year later, she struggles with strange symptoms of internal tremors, frozen shoulders, and a serious intestinal infection. She doesn’t understand why she can’t paddle a kayak or throw the ball for her dogs. Then comes the diagnosis: early onset Parkinson’s Disease. Carol is not afraid to face the apathy and depression. Instead of being drug down into darkness, she finds strategies for lifting herself, and others around her, up into the light.

Dr. George Cotzias lived a large life. He stood over six feet tall; he drank Metaxa like milk; he smoked cigarettes as if eating candy. He bullied patients, sometimes looming over their wasted bodies. He had “a stare as strong as death”. His passion for women, his wife, and others was infamous. His voice boomed through the halls of the hospital where he was chief of physiology research.

Five months pregnant, Amanda Adams and her husband were given two abysmal choices regarding her pregnancy: force her baby to fight for his life through countless invasive and dangerous surgeries, or perform a late term abortion. Despite the fact that Liam was missing half his heart, Amanda chose life. Amanda's emotional plate was full as she found herself redefining the usual expectations a mother has for her child. Instead of wondering where he'd go to college, she wondered if he would survive his first birthday. The eventual acceptance of Amanda's grief helped her accept her new role as a powerful advocate.

Ross Donaldson is one the few who have ventured into dark territory of a country ravaged by war to study one of the world's most deadly diseases. As an untried medical student studying the intersection of global health and communicable disease, Donaldson soon found himself in dangerous Sierra Leone, on the border of war-struck Liberia, where he struggled to control the spread of Lassa Fever. The words, "you know Lassa can kill you, don't you?" haunted him each day. He'ss forced to make life-and-death decisions alone as a never-ending onslaught of contagious patients flood the hospital.

Being diagnosed with cancer is frightening; learning that the cancer is late stage takes that fear to unknown depths. After a year of brutal treatment, Mo Haque heard the dreaded words, 'There is nothing else we can do for you.' His cancer was terminal and left him questioning the price we put on life. Three years on from the 'small chance' of survival the experts had given him, Mo shares his incredible story: of despair and suffering, of hope and healing, of vulnerability and authenticity. This audiobook is for anyone going through the most challenging of times.

Thriving with cancer. Survival doesn’t have to be a cancer patient’s only goal, and feeling overwhelmed doesn’t have to describe what it’s like to go through treatment. Focusing on one’s purpose and goals can make every day more manageable. Conscientious planning can help to lower anxiety, boost overall well-being, and even make room for moments that are full of life’s exuberance. This audiobook tackles personal and family issues that aren’t often raised by medical professionals and shines a light on what matters most: experiences that give life meaning and purpose.

When Tom DeBaggio turned 57 in 1999, he thought he was embarking on the golden years of retirement -- time to spend with his family, his friends, and the herb garden he spent decades cultivating. One winter day, he told his doctor during a routine exam that he had been stumbling into forgetfulness. After it subsequent battery of tests, DeBaggio joined the legion of 12 million others afflicted with Alzheimer's disease.

At the peak of her career, classical homeopath and health-care columnist Katina Makris was stricken with a mysterious "flu". Only after five years of torment - two completely bedridden - and devastating blows to her professional and family life was Katina's illness finally diagnosed as Lyme disease.

Mysterious and misunderstood, distorted by biblical imagery of disfigurement and uncleanness, Hansen's disease or leprosy has all but disappeared from America's consciousness. In Carville, Louisiana, the closed doors of the nation's last center for the treatment of leprosy open to reveal stories of sadness, separation, and even strength in the face of what was once a life-wrenching diagnosis. Drawn from interviews with living patients and extensive research in the leprosarium's archives, Carville: Remembering Leprosy in America tells the stories of former patients.

Chet Tremaine is living his best life. A successful lawyer with a loyal best friend, the arts and culture of New York City at his doorstep, and a peaceful retreat in Connecticut, Chet has it figured out. Even when a freak tennis accident leaves him blind in one eye, Chet is confident he'll be able to bounce back. But then he starts hallucinating: unknown children playing in his living room, pine needles seasoning his salad, wire grids barring access to his bathroom. His doctor allays his worst fears, only to deliver an even more shocking diagnosis.