Living Proof: A Medical Mutiny

Gearin-Tosh, Michael. Living Proof: A Medical Mutiny. Scribner, 2002.

Gearin-Tosh, a tutor at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford, was diagnosed with myeloma (cancer of the bone marrow) and told that if he did not begin chemotherapy immediately, he would be dead in less than a year. The recommended treatment, while probably extending his life somewhat, would not cure the condition. A second specialist confirmed the original prognosis, but the author rejected the proposed treatment after a former Oxford pupil consulted a cancer statistician who warned, “If your friend touches chemotherapy, he’s a goner.” Interwoven with engaging anecdotes from his professional life, Gearin-Tosh details his research into the world of alternative medicine…

“Michael Gearin-Tosh is a wonderful writer. He deals with the most important concepts. And he is indeed Living Proof. All physicians should read this book. Many of us are looking for more effective chemotherapeutic agents, biological intervention, etc., but the role of the ‘unorthodox’ therapies in his own experience and Carmen Wheatley’s case report on him–which is particularly well done–deserve scientific scrutiny and study.” Robert A. Kyle, M.D., Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota