Book Review: Your Medical Mind

Title: Your Medical Mind
Author: Jerome Groopman, M.D., Pamela Hartzband, M.D.
Publisher: The Penguin Press
Book: Hardcover, 320 pages
Buy: Amazon.com

Synopsis:
            Making the right medical choices is harder than ever. Whether we’re deciding to take a cholesterol drug or choosing a cancer treatment, we are overwhelmed by information from all sides: our doctors’ recommendations, dissenting expert opinions, confusing statistics, conflicting media reports, the advice of friends, claims on the Internet, and a never-ending stream of drug company ads. Your Medical Mind shows us how to chart a clear path through this sea of confusion.
            Drs. Groopman and Hartzband reveal that each of us has a set of deeply rooted beliefs whose profound influence we may not realize when we make medical decisions. How much trust we place in authority figures, in statistics, or in other patients’ stories, in science and technology or in natural healing, and whether we seek the most or the least treatment-all are key factors that shape our choices. Recognizing our preferences and the external factors that might lead our thinking astray can make a dramatic, even lifesaving, difference in our medical decision making. When conflicting information pulls us back and forth between options, when we feel pressured by doctors or loved ones to make a particular choice, or when we have no previous experience to guide us through a crisis, Your Medical Mind will prove an essential companion.
             The authors interviewed scores of patients who have struggled with situations such as these. They also drew on research and insights from doctors, psychologists, economists, and other experts to help reveal the array of forces that can aid or impede our thinking. They show us the subtle strategies drug advertisers use to influence our choices: they unveil the extreme-sometimes dangerously misleading-power of both narratives and statistics. And they help us understand how to improve upon a universal human shortcoming- assessing the future impact of the decisions we make now.

Review: 
             I've never been in a situation where my medical choice affected mine or any of my family's future, but this book makes me feel better about those inevitable choices. People don't seem to realize that the choices they make are all psychological and have roots in someone's experience or past. Drs. Goopman and Hartzband did a great job of interviewing people in all different aspects of medical ailment to show how differently people think based on what is presented (or not presented) to them. It can be easy for someone who just has a broken leg to pick a treatment that will heal their leg in time, but someone faced with an incurable cancer or deciding for a loved one no longer termed coherent is another story.

              I think this is an important book to read for anyone who will ever need to make medical decisions for them or a loved one. It will open your eyes to the world of medicine to see that sometimes people have an agenda and that it shouldn't get in the way of what you need to do. Facts, figures, and experience all come into play everyday and everything should be considered and thought over before a decision has been made. Parts of the book tend to get a bit heavy in medical talk and statistics, but the stories of individuals faced with critical decisions will inspire you to be careful next time you need to make one. I give this book 4 stars.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the publisher in order to create this review. The opinions expressed are of my own. Thank you to Trish at TLC Book Tours.