Aggressive Therapy

by Eric Schaefer

I asked my radiation oncologist if when they radiated my prostate, my crabs and scabies would mutate and become giant obscene creatures lumbering about the basement of the cancer center, knocking over medical carts and harassing nurses. He said he hadn’t run into that problem. So I asked him if he was troubled by the fact that every single patient who is diagnosed with cancer is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. That there is an army of personnel who count on a continuing parade of cancer patients. And that the business of cancer is worth billions. And that his own institution has millions invested in equipment to treat cancer in basically the same way it has been treated for a hundred years––slash, burn, poison. And because there is so much money to be made in doing things the same old way, there is no incentive to find a cheap, effective cure or preventative. In fact, there is a tremendous disincentive. He said no, that didn’t bother him, but it would make a good novel. This is the novel.
It is about two women who are moving to Florida so that one of them can further her medical training. They discover it is standard practice to treat patients who cannot benefit from the costly procedures they endure. They also discover that the hospital they're based at is making millions on unnecessary and dangerous treatments. Fraud and malfeasance are deeply entrenched, and a whole cadre of people will do anything to protect their cash cow.

304 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 11, 2024

Reviews

[eben schaefer · Rating 5 out of 5]

great read, and brings up some hard truths

The story clips right along with characters that are real and likable. The plot involves some of the ugly aspects of the US healthcare system and human nature.

[Eric Schaefer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. I loved the dialog and the characters. Funny Exciting. Relevant story.