This book is essential. I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in late 2003 and was given this book as a gift from a survivor I'd never met and still haven't to date. Because of her thoughtfulness, I was able to better understand, work with my treatment and get well again. I have given my copy away, that copy passed on by the person I gave it to again and I trust again since that time. Another friend of a friend was diagnosed in Florida (I'm in Michigan, my benefactor in California) and this was the first thing I did (after saying a prayer for her). Best Wishes for a speedy and full recovery to any/all who have need for this book.

Book is very informative and offers hope and help. It is far too old and needs to be updated to more current situations but many of the facts remain true and it is still probably the best cancer help book out there.

The theme of this book is that with positive expectancy of treatment and the patient's positive outlook, you CAN turn your cancer diagnosis into one of renewal of health. A patient CAN do this! Of the many books we have read, this one is outstanding. Dr. Simonton's book, Getting Well Again, is referenced in other volumes as well. The ideas are concrete, meaningful, and most of all---can be implemented. Positive expectancy is the key theme. We have read and reread its passages many times and have received renewed HOPE and OPTIMISM with every reading.

As a cancer survivor of 12 years, this book was recommended by a friend living with cancer herself. I learned how to visualize the cancer leaving my body when I was so sick I literally couldn't do anything else to help myself. Being able to positively participate in my own recovery helped me become a stronger person and very much a survivor. It did not take the place of the medical treatment or surgeries, but it did more for me emotionally during the process.

(some details corrected in book list, 12/ 23/'03)
Books like these should never be used as a substitute/replacement for formal medical care. Yet anyone who knows anything about health, knows of the power of mind to heal body. They also know that you keep all your options open, whilst never casting caution to the winds, surrendering obliviously to any sort of passing faddism.

Simonton's book is the best over-all guide to mind-body healing I have seen, and I am as contemptuous of unproven 'alternatives' and new-age drivel as anyone.

Yet, Simonton's isn't the only volume for your health bookshelf. His book recommends others for the average reader.

I might also suggest you add a few others:

- cancer-survivor Louise L. Hay, "Heal Your Body";
- Shakti Gawain's basic "Creative Visualization," useful if somewhat 'new-agey';
- Thomas Cleary's recent "Taoist Meditation"(not just for Taoists by a longshot);
- Joel Goldsmith's older "The Art of Spiritual Healing," now in trade paperback;
- Bernard Hollander MDs' classic, "Hypnosis and Self-Hypnosis";
- Yogi Ramacharaka's older "Science of Breath," not to be ignored becuase of the authors' name or because of the strange title;

Rama Prasad's "Nature's Finer Forces" if you're getting even more ambitious about breathing;
- Franz Alexander "Psychosomatic Medicine."
- Henry Bieler MD, "Food Is Your Best Medicine"
- everything you can get your hands on by Carlton Fredericks.
- Michael Saso, "The Gold Pavilion," the safest book I know of to begin working with oriental alchemy, relaxation, visualisation and breathing techniques useful for health and well-being, mental or physical;
-Israel Regardie, "The Art of True Healing," useful for health, relaxation, rhythmic breathing, and a score of other purposes, healing alot of areas of your life (see reviews;)
-everything by Karen Horney (yes, psychology has alot to do with physical health;)
-Carl Jung, "Two Essays on Analytical Psychology," alot more useful that it sounds, everyone should read it and have it around for re-reading;
- anything by Theodore Reik, paricularly "Listening With the Third Ear," and any other good psychology writers (Erik Erikson, Otto Fenichel) you may find, and that come highly recommended.

- and, so little mentioned by new agers, tho they are oft in her debt (directly or indirectly), Emma Curtis Hopkin's classic 'Scientific Christian Mental Practice,' in spite of awkward title and slightly difficult text, has taught me more of spirit healing than any other book I have read.

There are others. There are some volumes by Israel Regardie, now out of print, that speak quite excellently to the issues of relaxation, rhythmic breathing, etc., with regards to health. It would be nice to see these re-issued. In the meantime, Regardie's "Art of True Healing" may prove useful to many. There are also Regardie's useful discs/tapes that discuss body 'awareness,' relaxation, and rhythmic breathing - all of which may be much more useful than they intitially seem to the uninitiated or casual onlooker.

These books should sit on your shelf next to your more traditional health books, like Andrew Weil, Bernie Siegel, and any of the many standard health guides, usually bulky,
like those from Rodale Press /Prevention, and others (Harvard Medical School bulky general guides, etc.)

Conventionality should not, always and universally, be regarded as poison. Neither should 'alternatives' always be regarded as 'channelled sacred messages from beyond.' A wholesome smorgasbord of reliable outlooks and perspectives are what one is after.

Remember, its a broad outlook on health, lifestyle and its influences, and psychological effects on health, that we seek. Simonton's book, for example, is useful for this. Yet trends, fashions, 'magic healers,' quacks, and high-falutin' theories need to be seen for what they are, when considering health issues. Since "Fanaticism is above all to be eschewed," says Regardie, one should also be in the care of a competent, reputable, and reliable physician.

Its your health. Take the upper hand in your own health. You are responsible. Dont mess around. Dont fall for the tricks, dont believe the hype, use your cautious common sense. You're all grown up now.

It is usually foolish to do anything entirely on one's own hook. This is especially true in the area of health and medicine. This is so even for those who insist that 'if you want anything done right, do it yourself.' Individualism has its limits, like anything else.

One is best off with a balanced view. An overall health-orientated lifestyle is best. I would not forego the use of adaquate diet, vitamins, rest, moderate exercise, psychotherapeutic counseling, and a balanced lifestyle free of negative influences whether of person or place. Yet I wouldn't sacrifice my health on the altar of some frenzied, poorly considered 'alternatives' either. The overall dedication of oneself to a therapeutic lifestyle that anticipates future difficulty while dealing with the present, and considers the vast array of options, is the best approach. Believe me, there are worse ways to spend ones' time.

Simonton's book fills the bill and answers a need, if put in proper perspective. It should be read also by those who have no real health problems at the moment, to enrich a disease-preventative understanding. (Plan Ahead!)