For those interested in alternative therapies alone or as a complement to conventional medicine, Own Your Health is a unique combination of inspirational stories, research facts, and the power of integrative medicine. Weisman, a medical writer, wrote the book as a testament to the alternative treatments (namely exercise, massage, and Chinese medicine) that helped her recover after a debilitating stroke. Co-author Brian Berman is an international authority on alternative medicine and founder and director of the complementary medicine program at the University of Maryland, the first university-based center of its kind in the United States focusing on research. Berman's expertise and authority will definitely increase physician awareness of other therapeutic treatments available to patients. Berman helped establish and now directs the complementary medicine field of the International Cochrane Collaboration.
Each chapter in this book is structured to include the following: “Closer Look” sections, which include more information about certain alternative modalities; “Take Action” sections, which include health tips from experts; and for health sciences librarians and physicians interested in evidence-based medicine (EBM), “What's the Evidence?” sections, which explain which treatments work and which do not, according to published research. In addition, there are sidebars in shaded boxes, which offer assessments of both alternative and conventional treatments.
The “integrative medicine” philosophy sets the tone for this well-informed guide. “The term integrative medicine originated in the late twentieth century to describe the combination of conventional (also called ”allopathic“ or Western) medicine and alternative, or complementary, health practices” (p. 6). “In addition to providing the best conventional care, integrative medicine focuses on the preventive maintenance of health by attention to diet, exercise, stress management and emotional well-being” (p. 28).
Weisman presents a wide variety of case histories and describes both conventional and alternative treatments. Among the many illnesses discussed are osteoporosis, stroke, cancer, cardiovascular illness, chronic pain, spinal cord injuries and multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS). There are many alternative treatments given in-depth coverage in this volume, including: Ayurvedic medicine, acupuncture, hydrotherapy, yoga, the Alexander Technique, meditation, herbal medicine, energy healing, chiropractic and craniosacral therapy, therapeutic touch, and muscular therapy.
Own Your Health is comprehensive in its scope as it includes alternative treatments for children (including integrative approaches to asthma) and a chapter on aging well with complementary methods. There are useful appendices, which include a glossary of alternative medicine as well as publications, organizations, resources, and Websites (this author found James Duke's database on the chemistry and uses of medicinal plants very interesting at http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/).
A key factor in the recovery of each patient in this book is again the integrative philosophy: “…optimal healing occurs when everything affecting you as the patient is addressed. To quote the late Sir William Osler, renowned physician and teacher, ‘It is more important to know what sort of patient has a disease than what sort of disease a patient has’” (p. 15). The patients in this book are described as “health explorers” or “medical pioneers” because they have the personal determination and the support of family, friends, and physicians to explore alternative methods of treatment, to “own their health.”
The account of one patient with multiple myeloma and kidney failure who used meditation, Reiki healing, and acupuncture, as well as conventional cancer treatment to treat her illness, then enters remission, is truly inspiring. This patient goes on to become the first human with multiple myeloma and kidney failure to receive a double transplant.
There are many personal, inspirational stories in this reference work, which makes it an easy read. One of the most interesting frameworks for the book is the exploration of the link between factors such as lifestyle, stress, diet and exercise, and their impact on disease. An excellent example of this is the SEARCH study at the Duke Center for Integrative Medicine, which is exploring mind/body methods and the reduction of heart disease risk.
This book pays equal attention to conventional and alternative treatments. The author reminds the reader, through a series of inspirational stories, that although alternative medicine can be very beneficial, recommended conventional medicine must not be ignored as a treatment for disease. Weisman illustrates this by describing one patient who ignored conventional treatments for breast cancer and the cancer unfortunately spread to her lungs.
Own Your Health shows patients and physicians that the best treatment for illness is usually a combination of alternative and conventional medicine and that neither approach should be ignored in the quest for recovery. This book definitely qualifies as a reference source in any health sciences library.