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The Light Within: The Extraordinary Friendship of a Doctor and Patient Brought Together by Cancer | 
 enlarge | Authors: Lois M. Ramondetta, Deborah Sills
Publisher: William Morrow
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $9.73
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Avg. Customer Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 88666
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.1
ISBN: 0061359416
Dewey Decimal Number: 362.196994
EAN: 9780061359415
ASIN: 0061359416
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
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Product Description
The luminous true story of a friendship that shed the boundaries of the doctor-patient relationship and became less a confrontation with death than a celebration of the joys of life When young gynecologic oncology fellow Lois Ramondetta was first summoned to the room of a new patient, neither she nor the forty-nine-year-old professor of religion she encountered named Deborah Sills thought they had much in common. They certainly had no idea that they were about to embark on a transcendent odyssey that would become a soul-deep friendship. Now their heartfelt story, The Light Within, follows these two women through a decade of friendship and "big lives"—husbands, children, friends, and careers—ultimately crossing the country and traveling to foreign lands, where they spoke and wrote together about the intersection of doctors, patients, and spirituality. Both women searched together and openly for answers with honesty and intimacy until Deborah passed away in the spring of 2006.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
A Spiritual Friendship September 27, 2008
I purchased this for my Kindle after reading a reference to it in an AMAevoice email. Being a nurse and a nurse with many physician friends it intrigued me. Weeks after the book was delivered and waiting to be read I was diagnosed with cancer. I hesitated, should I read it now or after my surgery, after my radiation? I began to read, secure in the knowledge that if it became too painful I could always stop. I am so thankful I read it....it has become and will be an inspiration to me not only as a cancer patient, but as a nurse and as a friend.
I am thankful that these two wonderful women shared their friendship with the world, their joys, their sorrows, their dreams. Deb lives on thanks to the written word and in the hearts of those of us who have read this book. Dr. Lois I hope that you are able to pass on your legacy of compassion and caring to your students, interns and residents the medical profession is in need of more physicians like you.....thank you.
It made me a better physician and friend September 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
How deeply moved I was by this book! I could relate to so many of the situations described. I want you to know that I will be a better physician because of this beautiful story. It is refreshing and "enlightening" to know that we can become personal friends with our patients!
A Compelling Read August 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is an extraordinary account of a deep friendship between a terminal cancer patient and a surgeon - the sort of thing that "is not supposed to happen." The physician allows her empathy for the dying patient to blossom into a full-blown, outside-of-the-hospital friendship including international travel together, and culminating in the writing of this book. The patient, a professor of comparative religion, maintains her zest for life and outgoing personality until the disease gets the best of her. The physician, having an undergraduate degree in comparative religion, is taken in by deep conversations and the importance of living in the present insisted on by the patient. The two form a poignant picture of caring friends, interrupted only by the disease itself. Quite a story! One of those "can't put it down" books.
spirituality and Medicene June 18, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Spirituality and medicine seems an unlikely combination until you read The Light Within. Finally we have a doctor who addresses the need for doctors to get involved with their patients lives when those patients are faced with a terminal illness. The interweaving of the two stories allows us to understand what the real meaning of spirituality is for both the doctor and the patient. Each helps the other to grow and deepen their own lives in-spite of difficult emotional setbacks. Even though the patient dies the reader is left feeling positive and grateful to have had the chance to get to know these two remarkable women. In this time of difficult medical connections which seem to revolve around paperwork and short visits it is heartening to know that there is a Dr. Ramondetta who is out there fighting for all of us.
An incredibly moving story. June 10, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I connected to this book on so many levels...as a breast cancer survivor; a caregiver/support person for many friends and relatives with cancer; and a former MD Anderson employee with a special interest in the complexity of physician-patient communications and relationships. It's quite remarkable that Dr. Ramondetta was able to step beyond the traditional "limitations" of her role as a cancer doctor, in order to develop such a deep and enduring relationship with her patient Deb. Clearly, both their lives were the better for having met each other. How inspiring it must have been for Deb to know that her cancer diagnosis created the opportunity to have such a wonderful relationship.
I hope everyone who has or will encounter Cancer World (that means all of us, eventually) has a chance to read this book. Kudos to Dr. Ramondetta and Deb for taking the time and spending the emotional energy to create this wonderful legacy and testament to the power of love and friendship.
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