Results by title
108 books match the query 'Diseases & Conditions' and 7 start with c
Cancer Activism
Gender, Media, and Public PolicyKaren M. Kedrowski and Marilyn Stine Sarow
University of Illinois Press, 2010
Cancer Activism explores the interplay between advocacy, the media, and public perception through an analysis of breast cancer and prostate cancer activist groups over a nearly twenty-year period. Despite both diseases having nearly identical mortality and morbidity rates, Karen M. Kedrowski and Marilyn Stine Sarow present evidence from more than 4,200 news articles to show that the different groups have had markedly different impacts. They trace the rise of each movement from its beginning and explore how discussions about the diseases appeared on media, public, and government agendas. In an important exception to the feminist tenet that women as a group hold less power than men, Kedrowski and Sarow demonstrate that the breast cancer movement is not only larger and better organized than the prostate cancer movement, it is also far more successful at shaping media coverage, public opinion, and government policy.
Challenging Diagnosis
Cystic Fibrosis and the Elusive Quest for CertaintyMichelle LaBonte
University of Chicago Press, 2026
Highlights the experiences of patients to examine how diagnostic uncertainty in cystic fibrosis has persisted despite the introduction of new technologies.
Using the critical case of cystic fibrosis (CF), Challenging Diagnosis probes the sociocultural and scientific factors that have contributed to diagnostic uncertainty in medicine while foregrounding its impact on patients and families. Though often described in medical and biology texts as a model genetic disease, making it straightforward to identify, diagnosing CF has long been fraught with challenges. As Michelle LaBonte shows, looking at CF illustrates how diagnostic uncertainty has persisted despite—and even because of—new technologies.
Drawing on her own experiences as a patient with pancreatic insufficiency, a condition often seen in people with CF, LaBonte examines shifts in CF’s screening and diagnosis, from the first comprehensive descriptions of the disease in the 1930s to contemporary genetic testing for carrier status. Today, the diagnosis of CF is no more straightforward than it was in the mid-twentieth century. Since many diagnostic technologies for CF (or their analogs) have been used throughout medicine, as LaBonte explains, these findings are broadly applicable beyond CF and demonstrate the significant harms associated with relying on test results that prioritize disease specificity over patient narratives.
In her historical analysis and her personal story, LaBonte highlights the shortcomings of a reductionist biomedical model that’s overly reliant on diagnostic technologies, a concern that’s more relevant than ever now that direct-to-consumer genetic testing and use of whole genome sequencing in newborns are increasing.
Chasing Polio in Pakistan
Why the World's Largest Public Health Initiative May FailSvea Closser
Vanderbilt University Press, 2010
Chronicling Childhood Cancer
A Collection of Personal Stories by Children and Teens with CancerTrisha Karena Paul
Michigan Publishing Services, 2014
This book is a resource for all those interested in learning more about childhood cancer, including health practitioners, family, and friends. These stories also have the potential to help other youth diagnosed with cancer.
All of the proceeds received by the University of Michigan Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology for this book will be donated: 50% to the Block Out Cancer campaign for pediatric cancer research at the University of Michigan and 50% to the Child and Family Life Program at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.
Close to Me, but Far Away
Living with Alzheimer'sBurton M. Wheeler
University of Missouri Press, 2001
Each day Burt Wheeler is plagued by the same question. When did it happen? If he could pinpoint the beginning, then he might begin to make peace with himself. He vividly remembers when the doctor diagnosed Kee, his loving wife of over fifty years, with "Alzheimer-type dementia." But, as hard as he tries, it's impossible for him to determine when his wife's dementia started. He remembers her bout with depression, but that, he thinks, was surely due to her breast cancer. There was their dream vacation to Greece when Kee seemed so tired and indifferent. There were the unopened books, when reading had always been such a source of pleasure to her. And, he recalls, the gradual personality changes with friends, and even with family.
Wheeler started writing this book as a form of self-therapy when he found himself thrust into the role of caretaker to his wife--a role for which he felt unprepared. He wrote in memory of the very special woman his wife had been—a wonderful mother, charming and gracious, as well as a deeply respected psychotherapist. She was also his best friend, and he loved her. So, to some degree, this is a love story—a story about two people who have shared life's ups and downs for over fifty years. It's also about commitment.
In Close to Me, but Far Away, Wheeler provides insight into what a caregiver's day is like, as he shares his most intimate thoughts with us. The book provides a window into the author's personal life as he seeks to confront his own ineptitude and the occasional despair he feels as he deals daily with Alzheimer's. He also touches on the question of what keeps him going through times of exhaustion and frustration. Part of his answer lies in holding tenaciously to memories, and part lies in what he believes is a human's extraordinary capacity to continue plodding along simply because he must. Wheeler also believes in rejoicing in the beauty that can be experienced, and he believes in humor, humor achieved only by distancing ourselves from the events that so deeply engage us. And, of course, there is also the indefinable nature of love.
Alzheimer's is a terrifying and horrible disease, as much for loved ones as for the patient. Those who are caregivers or friends of Alzheimer's patients or caregivers will empathize with Burton Wheeler's story. And some might receive comfort from his words or learn from him. Because Alzheimer's is a disease that could affect anyone, Close to Me, but Far Away is a story that should be read by all.
Confronting AIDS through Literature
The Responsibilities of RepresentationEdited by Judith Laurence Pastore
University of Illinois Press, 1993
Covid’s Chronicities
From Urgency to Stasis in a Pandemic EraEdited by Lenore Manderson and Nancy J. Burke
University College London, 2025
While the initial urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic fades, its long-term disruptions continue to reshape societies and individual lives. Covid’s Chronicities captures the global experience of a crisis that has evolved into a persistent state of uncertainty. Based on research from Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa, this volume examines how governments and communities have navigated everything from shifting policies to the social and economic aftershocks of the pandemic.
This volume reveals how COVID-19 has exacerbated existing inequalities and exposed deep structural neglect while also highlighting the resilience of communities, such as Indigenous knowledge systems and grassroots mutual aid networks. Tracing the pandemic’s transition from emergency to enduring crisis, the authors offer a sobering yet hopeful analysis of how people continue to remake their worlds in the face of ongoing instability.