First Patients

by Rod Tanchanco

The incredible true stories of pioneer patients

What was it like to be that patient caught in a medical crisis that sparked a medical milestone? First Patients reads with the pace and excitement of a top-notch medical thriller, providing an enthralling view into the history of medicine and revealing the extent of human inventiveness, resilience, and compassion.

• What compelled U.S. Army doctors to infect themselves with yellow fever virus in Cuba?
• How did an English farmer become the first smallpox vaccinator?
• What led to the first human-to-human blood transfusion in the eighteenth century?
• Who was the first boy to be revived by a defibrillator, and how did that lead to the launch of CPR?
• Could a woman force cautious doctors to implant a new, untested pacemaker in time to save her husband’s life?
• How did a fifteen-year-old boy become a victim of AIDS in 1968, decades before the virus even had a name?

Most readers will recognize these renowned health solutions. What makes this book so compelling is how the cases that prompted such groundbreaking innovations have considerably affected longevity and quality of human life for generations.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

280 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 8, 2022

About the author

Rod Tanchanco writes medically themed narrative non-fiction focused on historical events and new innovations. He is the author of "First Patients" and his articles have appeared in Time.com, TheAtlantic.com, History News Network, Intima, Medical Economics, and KevinMD.com. He is a physician, a Fellow in the American College of Physicians, trained in Internal Medicine, with three decades of experience. Tanchanco has worked as a primary care physician, hospitalist, research physician, and medical director for multiple large healthcare organizations.

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

A collection of histories of medical discoveries. All of them changed the world, and all of them were pretty interesting. Shows the way medicine and science are supposed to work.

[Kimba Tichenor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend. Dr. Rod Tachanco has accomplished a rare feat; he has written a history of scientific and medical discovery that privileges the human dimension of discovery, that is, the personal stories, the emotions, the motivations, and aspirations that led men and women to seek out new treatments for diseases or to, serve as human guinea pigs for experimental drugs and procedures. As a result, the doctors, the patients, and their families come to life on these pages—the farmer who vaccinated his family members against small pox by infecting them with cow pox years before scientist realized that those who contracted and survived cow pox were immune to smallpox; the wife who badgered a surgeon to advance a new technology (the pacemaker) to save her husband’s life, the doctors who attempted (and eventually succeeded) infecting themselves with yellow fever to discover the carrier of the disease, the young mother who became the first patient treated with penicillin, and many more.

Each chapter relates the story of the doctors and the patients behind various major medical milestones, such as the development of a smallpox vaccine, the discovery and application of blood transfusion as a medical treatment, advances in malaria treatment, the discovery, manufacture, and use of penicillin in the treatment of infection, the advent of the defibrillator and pacemaker, and the AIDs epidemic, Although arranged chronologically according to when the medical milestone/crisis took place, the chapters can be read either in order of presentation or as discrete units.

While many may dismiss this history, thinking that they already know the stories of these discoveries, this would be a huge mistake. Since by probing "the ordeal of real people caught in unique medical dilemmas," the author has breathed life into the cold, objective accounts found in textbooks.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Lil Bookish Dragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️
This book is extremely interesting if this is a topic where you are particularly interested.
If however you are only slightly curious this book might be a little tedious however I enjoyed it.
You can see the authors passion as he tells the stories for these forgotten folk and it really brings their stories to life again.
I will definitely recommend this book to any of my medical none fiction lovers!

[Hayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

~3.5 stars~

I was intrigued by the synopsis of this book, and, for the most part, it lived up to my high expectations. The author did a great job of making this book interesting to those with a medical background, while still keeping things simple enough that a general audience could enjoy the book. I liked the inclusion of pictures of the people the author was referring to. This, as well as the narrative as a whole, gave some well-known medical stories a personal twist.

However, I did think there were just a few too many personal, rather irrelevant facts shared during the stories that detracted from the excitement of these groundbreaking cases. Also, the writing was a bit circuitous and repetitive at certain points. The first few stories were pretty similar in their sequence of events, and many of the final stories focused solely on HIV and AIDS discoveries. While the author did a good job of picking cases that were very different based on geography, time period, and demographics, he could’ve been more diligent in picking cases that were unique in their general storylines.

Overall, this was a fascinating, new perspective on seminal medical cases. I recommend it to those who enjoy insight into the personal side of medicine.

*I received an ARC of this novel. This is my complete and honest review.*

[Megz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A history of medical discovery: those who discovered them, and the patients who endured them.

First Patients delves into the history of medical discoveries such as vaccination, blood transfusion, and the vectors of disease. Author Tanchanco’s prose is accessible to readers who are not in healthcare, but also not so simplistic as to miss medics and scientists as an audience. The writing is scientifically sound, which is more than one can say for many similar works.

That said, the cases here are all fairly well recorded, and I would have hoped for some lesser-known cases, something to really energise me. The author DOES delve much deeper than most into the backgrounds of the discoveries - including exploring friendships, mentors, and formative experiences of doctors and patients. Unfortunately he often errs on the side of being TOO longwinded with facts of little importance.

Does my profession colour my experience of First Patients? Perhaps. I suspect that to readers not in the medical field, or who have not read many similar books, this will be a fine read. I certainly would have enjoyed it as a first year medical student (ALERT: gift idea for your prospective medical student!). It is certainly instructive of perseverance, and I almost felt inspired to go and discover something! I say almost because, well, burnout is real.

I find the title to be misleading, though. First Patients made me expect that these recollections would pay homage to the “first patients” of these discoveries. Perhaps some of the chapters about HIV did so successfully, but mostly, chapters still revolved around the researcher.

I felt this book lacking a certain “something”, but that doesn’t mean that other readers might not find it enlightening.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Teodora · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazingly written book about a subject that has captivated the whole population in the last few years.
Rod writes with a great attention to details and takes you through a journey following the patients that were the first to get a disease, receive treatment for it and everything in between. I loved how this wasn't just a medical journal, it had bits and pieces of their lives, their fears and how those involved met and overcome their problems. The book is extremely well documented and researched, so you will learn a lot about these conditions and illnesses.
I recommend this to anyone who is passionate about the medical field, but also to anyone who has a curious heart and loves finding out more about new subjects, because you will find something interesting in it either way.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book from a Goodreads giveaway. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in medical history. It is very informative and it was fun to learn about what first patients went through when a new disease/treatment was discovered.

[Jeffrey Hatcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rod Tanchanco's First Patients presents an interesting look at the doctors, patients, and their mutual interactions at the debut of new medical procedures. Initially, Tanchanco's work reads like a special interest book for medical trivia buffs. It's not immediately clear to what end he writes. However, he increasingly develops several serious themes, although he never explicitly points them out as such. The book ultimately provides a useful window into the psychology of medicine.

Integrating new scientific knowledge into medical practice always and desirably has a lag time to it. After establishing a procedure or idea as credible, tests need to be run using animal models, analyses need to be optimized, tests need to be rerun, etc. All of this process takes significant time. Part of this process occurring before, after, and along the way is the formal and informal process of peer-review. Ultimately, the most important review is by peers in their own medical practices (along with hospital boards of trustees and the like). First Patients familiarizes the reader with this big – picture review process and illustrates how medicine can veer too far from medical science from time to time.

From the opposite side of the spectrum, Tanchanco's stories also illustrate how patients and their families frequently instigate change. If the art of medicine gets too tied up with scientific analyses, it becomes slothful. A desperate patient may willingly assume the role of the lab rat and survive to break new ground.

Human lab rats play a very important role beyond just confirming science – led methods. Tanchanco makes quite a few references to individuals and institutions (professional and religious) getting in the way of progress by adhering to arcane notions. A doctor might derive a great deal of resolve to confront social obstacles by having a patient with a sad enthusiasm for trying the novel. In our time of Covid, too many anti-vaxers and similarly self-appointed experts are making themselves an obstacle to the greater good. Books like First Patients impede the development of an 'us vs. them' mentality by generally opening up the window on medical practice. Humanizing the process of healthcare has beneficial returns.

[Aneesha Shewani · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pandemic years have re-instilled curiosity and questions about discovering treatments and vaccines. The book - First Patients by Rod Tanchanco - arrives at an opportune time to quelch this curiosity. Rod has compiled a set of 10 stories around various events that led to fascinating and life-changing medical discoveries. From smallpox to AIDs, yellow fever to mold, these carefully selected stories talk about accidental deaths and accidental studies that change the course of medical history.

The writing is impeccable and takes you back to the time of the incidents. The tone and texture of the stories are engaging and relevant to the timelines of several scientific breakthroughs. A storehouse of information, this book reflects meticulous research with utmost passion for the subject. The writer's enthusiasm and fascination are evident.

We see how the world of sciences is not only plagued by doubt and dissing of ideas but also by infighting, jealousy, and lobbying. Maybe discoveries benefitting humans would arrive earlier and with more precision if all had the interest of humanity foremost. While many erudite men clamor for accolades, actual heroes are the commoners who either come across discoveries or are the "First Patients" oft sacrificed on the table of science. Between human avarice and selfless dedication, the population of Earth has survived medical odds.

Rod says in the preface that he wrote this book with "enthrallment, awe, and disbelief that swept me as I probed the ordeal of real people caught in unique medical dilemmas." There are no other appropriate words to rephrase why one must read this book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book because I like to read about works of science and medicine. Even if you know all these stories, the depth and clarity of Rod's narrative make the book a keepsake. Within each page, you will gain new insights into the field of medical care and knowledge. The book fills the gap by retelling "stories on the patients behind medical milestones" in the last three hundred years.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

interesting look at medical history. Things I never would have thought of how it came to be. Well written for the non-medically trained person. I gave it a rating only because the cases chosen were not that interesting. More out there cases would have been a bit more engaging.

[Mariah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories of medical discoveries that have changed the face of the medicine world throughout history are often not recognized by the general public. Rod Tanchanco talks about how that fact was the start of the inspiration to write this book.
The stories in this book talk about the ordinary people that helped change the face of medicine, intentionally or not. These are not the absolute full stories of these people and discoveries, but they are extremely well-written and put together. There is also an extensive list of resources and sources listed at the end of the book that can be used to further research what might interest the readers.
Even if you don't know a lot about medicine or the medical world - this is still a really interesting book to read. It humanizes some of the medical advancements and just what these advancements meant to the people that pioneered them and the people that needed them desperately.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First Patients is a narrative of those who were first involved with a disease or treatment. The author gives a lot of background into how a treatment came about. How those involved met, what started their path-from childhood interests to fated events, what stumbling blocks were in the way and of course how they reached fruition. I found some of the narrative difficult to follow but the topic fascinating and well researched. Have you ever asked yourself, what made someone try that? to get to where we are today. This book takes a look at those answers for some medical advances- I hope he does a sequel with more medical issues.I am grateful to have received a promotional copy for review.

[April Shuffler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a very interesting and informative read. It's a collection of different TRUE stories about medical conditions and cases that ultimately prompted patients and doctors to find treatment and possibly cures for illness's that hadn't even been discovered or even named yet! It was an intriguing look into the history of medicine! I would definitely recommend it for anyone to read. Especially if you like reading stories about the inventiveness of humans, resilience, human compassion and just learning about the history and origin of facts not commonly known.

[Louise Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers facts and technical details in a way which is also thoroughly entertaining. Without detracting from the seriousness of the topic or, indeed, the personal risks taken by the people involved, the author skilfully tells the story of the history of this aspect of medical science. A thoroughly accessible book, this will educate and entertain in equal measure,

[yamiyoghurt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite an interesting book that details the story behind the discovery of some illnesses and their cures. The material is interesting and reminds me of The Coming Plague by Laurie Garrett.