Overview

How do you save lives while fighting for your own? At just 37, Dr. Tali Lando Aronoff was thriving as a pediatric airway surgeon, a wife, and the mother of three young daughters. Then, in the span of one harrowing week, just months after premature delivery of her youngest child, she learned her father was dying of brain cancer ... and she was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer. Accustomed to being in control (in the operating room and beyond), Dr. Lando's life became decidedly ""out of control."" With grit, candor, and surprising humor, Hell & Back takes readers inside the dual worlds of doctor and patient, charting a course through mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation, and recovery. Inside this powerful memoir, you'll discover: A rare insider's view of medicine from both sides of the scalpel Honest, unsparing accounts of cancer treatment, from nipple reconstruction to radiation fatigue The unexpected humor and humanity that can surface even in the darkest moments Reflections on resilience, family, and the bonds that sustain us. A brilliant, raw, entertaining book for the entire cancer community: patients, families, friends, doctors, nurses, radiation and chemotherapy techs, and more. What's it really like to juggle life, work, and cancer? This book gives it to you straight, with a dose of humor. For the recently diagnosed, those in the thick of the battle, or post-treatment. Hell & Back is a hilariously funny, uplifting, heartfelt, and enlightening guide to the roller-coaster ride of cancer diagnosis and treatment - told from the viewpoint of the physician-patient. Readable and ""snackable"" (even when you're nauseated) - a cancer memoir designed for the waiting room, the chemo suite, the train, the plane, or a weekend in bed. Praise for Hell & Back ""A moving, impressively upbeat tour of a struggle with life-threatening disease."" - Kirkus Reviews ""Candid and honest ... her perspective as a doctor shines through. Heartwarming and filled with truth. I laughed out loud. Patients will surely benefit."" - Subuhee Hussein, MD, Oncologist ""Healthcare providers can learn a lot from reading this book. It's so important to understand the full impact of this illness on the patients we care for ... Dr. Lando is a surgeon and outstanding writer."" - Carolyn Wasserheit, MD, Oncologist ""Loved it! Totally relatable and informative. F*@K CANCER!"" - Sara H., Breast Cancer Survivor Also by Dr. Tali Lando ... Don't miss Dr. Lando's second book, Breathless: Surgical Tales from the Brink (and Back), where her riveting story continues ... in the operating room and beyond. Breathless is a powerful, unflinching, and deeply human exploration of life and death in the pediatric operating room. In this gripping collection of 19 exquisitely rendered chapters, Dr. Lando shares unforgettable tales of tiny preemies, trauma victims, surgical miracles, and heartbreaking losses. An unparalleled book for story lovers and would-be surgeons.

Full Product Details

9781480861756

Table of Contents

Reviews

KIRKUS REVIEWS HELL & BACK: Wife & Mother, Doctor & Patient, Dragon Slayer BOOK REVIEW: A surgeon reflects on her battle with breast cancer in this debut memoir. In the aftermath of a rocky divorce in her early 20s, Aronoff went on to live the life that she always wanted. After years of grueling education, she became a pediatric ear-nose-and-throat surgeon, married a wonderful man, and gave birth to three children. Then, she received shocking news: her beloved father was diagnosed with an incurable, malignant brain tumor. Barely more than a week later, she discovered a hard lump on her own chest, and immediately had a doctor examine her. After a battery of tests, her worst fears were confirmed--at 37, she had breast cancer. She opted for the most aggressive response available: a full, bilateral mastectomy, combined with a lymph node dissection. However, in the wake of the procedure, the author learned that her cancer was worse than previously thought. It turned out to be at stage 3, ensuring that she would have to undergo months of chemotherapy and weeks of depleting radiation treatment. Aronoff's remembrance shifts back and forth from a microscopic consideration of her medical circumstances--including a thorough discussion of nipple reconstruction--to a discussion of the emotional consequences of her disease. She covers a broad swath of topics, including her restrictive diet, her experiments with wigs after chemotherapy led to hair loss, and her return to work during radiation treatment. The thematic twine that holds the memoir together, though, is how her experience as a patient affected her outlook as a doctor: As a physician, it opened my eyes to the vulnerability of the patient experience, the confusion, the fear and the uncertainty, she affectingly notes. The author writes lucidly and crisply, and is consistently cheerful and humorous throughout. Aronoff's expert assessment of her health challenges is instructive, and her bravery is inspiring. Her confrontation with mortality--her own, as well as her father's--apparently gave her new reserves for reflecting on her non-cancerous real life. A moving, impressively upbeat tour of a struggle with life-threatening disease.

"KIRKUS REVIEWS HELL & BACK: Wife & Mother, Doctor & Patient, Dragon Slayer BOOK REVIEW: A surgeon reflects on her battle with breast cancer in this debut memoir. In the aftermath of a rocky divorce in her early 20s, Aronoff went on to live the life that she always wanted. After years of grueling education, she became a pediatric ear-nose-and-throat surgeon, married a wonderful man, and gave birth to three children. Then, she received shocking news: her beloved father was diagnosed with an incurable, malignant brain tumor. Barely more than a week later, she discovered a hard lump on her own chest, and immediately had a doctor examine her. After a battery of tests, her worst fears were confirmed--at 37, she had breast cancer. She opted for the most aggressive response available: a full, bilateral mastectomy, combined with a lymph node dissection. However, in the wake of the procedure, the author learned that her cancer was worse than previously thought. It turned out to be at stage 3, ensuring that she would have to undergo months of chemotherapy and weeks of depleting radiation treatment. Aronoff's remembrance shifts back and forth from a microscopic consideration of her medical circumstances--including a thorough discussion of nipple reconstruction--to a discussion of the emotional consequences of her disease. She covers a broad swath of topics, including her restrictive diet, her experiments with wigs after chemotherapy led to hair loss, and her return to work during radiation treatment. The thematic twine that holds the memoir together, though, is how her experience as a patient affected her outlook as a doctor: ""As a physician, it opened my eyes to the vulnerability of the patient experience, the confusion, the fear and the uncertainty,"" she affectingly notes. The author writes lucidly and crisply, and is consistently cheerful and humorous throughout. Aronoff's expert assessment of her health challenges is instructive, and her bravery is inspiring. Her confrontation with mortality--her own, as well as her father's--apparently gave her new reserves for reflecting on her ""non-cancerous real life."" A moving, impressively upbeat tour of a struggle with life-threatening disease."

Author Information

Tali Lando Aronoff, M.D., is a full-time pediatric otolaryngology (ENT) surgeon with a busy practice split between her offices and the operating room. She is also a mother of three young girls and an enthusiastic scuba diver and breast cancer survivor. She grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and lived in New York City for a decade before settling in Westchester, New York, with her husband and children.

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