Scary Diagnosis: Navigating Fear, Finding Strength, and Securing the Health Care You Deserve

Edward G. Rogoff, Ph.D., is an accomplished educational leader who has taught at Baruch College, Long Island University and New York University. Diagnosed with hemophilia as a child he was cured of it as an adult following a liver transplant. Rogoff has served on the Board of the Hemophilia Association of New York since 1980, and for seven years he was also on the Board of LiveOnNY, the major organ donor organization for the New York City metropolitan area. Professor Rogoff remains a major advocate for continued research and better treatments for all patients who receive a scary diagnosis.

Informatively enhanced for the reader's benefit with the inclusion of a seven page Introduction, a two page bibliographic listing of Suggested Reading and a ten page Index, "Scary Diagnosis: Navigating Fear, Finding Strength, and Securing the Health Care You Deserve" by Professor Edward G. Rogoff is especially important reading for anyone presented with a troubling diagnosis, as well as medical providers, supportive family members and friends. Especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Health/Medicine collections and supplemental Health Care Delivery curriculum studies lists.—Small Press Bookwatch, March 2025

• Foreword AcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 1: The First Shock, Then Waiting for AnswersWhen you receive a scary diagnosis, you need to know how to receive it,hear it, process it, and rely on others to provide prospective.Chapter 2: Life or DeathEveryone eventually dies, and some diagnoses are death sentences. But foralmost every diagnosis there is a reason for more optimism than pessimism.Chapter 3: Vulnerability SquaredBeing sick makes you feel vulnerable, fearful, and powerless.Chapter 4: Sick ChildrenAs vulnerable as you are as an adult, children are far more defenseless.Chapter 5: Building Your TeamWhen you receive a scary diagnoses, you naturally tend to become depressedand isolate yourself from the world.Chapter 6: You Must Never Lose Your DignityAt its worst, medical treatment can feel like torture, creating unimaginablepain that can reduce you to feeling like a supplicant begging forrelief.Chapter 7: Distrust and SuspicionSkepticism is good; paranoia is bad. But you are likely somewhere on thiscontinuum.Chapter 8: Selecting and Managing Your DoctorHow you can find and select the right doctor.Chapter 9: Faith, Hope, and the Three StoogesYou need to focus on your attitude and take concrete steps to keep yourmood positive.Chapter 10: To Share or Not to ShareIt may be painful to share, but it can also bring you relief.Chapter 11: Managing the Hospital ExperienceWhich hospital you should select to receive the best care?Chapter 12: Coping with Big, Bad BureaucraciesHow the bureaucracies of insurance companies, hospitals, medical practices,and government programs can crush your spirit and damage yourchances of successful treatment.Chapter 13: Confront Your Disease by Being More Than Just a PatientBeing engaged in your work, family, and interests is what makes you whoyou are and you shouldn’t lose that to your scary diagnosis.Chapter 14: With Gratitude, Optimism Is SustainableYou must strive to find gratitude and acknowledge the strength you foundwhen coping with your scary diagnosis.Suggested ReadingIndex