I was diagnosed with colon cancer when I was 43, in the summer of 2015. That's young for a cancer patient. The symptoms were weird and were not what is commonly associated with colon cancer. After major surgery in early 2016, the plan was to get me back on my feet within 6 months. Sadly, the common treatment method of chemotherapy did not work in my case. Turns out I have some genetic defects that lead to an aggressive form of uber nasty cancer, rendering most conventional treatment options useless. As a result, my hospital decided to turn me away, knowing they had no idea how to help me going forward. Seemingly left to die with no further treatment options, the power of the universe put me in touch with a crack team of doctors at Mount Sinai Hospital in Miami Beach. These people were not so easy to give up on me just yet. They suggested immunotherapy, the same treatment that miraculously cured Jimmy Carter. And it worked wonders! In only two months I went from a sleep deprived wreck, living with constant pain, unable to walk without a wheelchair or a stick, to cycling 10 miles a day. And all that without major side effects. If that's not a miracle then I don't know what is! BROKEN BOWELS is my personal account of these horrific yet truly amazing years I have endured. I've had countless chemotherapy and radiation treatments and survived terrible side effects. I've had 6 surgeries, I've had a colostomy for almost two years and an ileostomy for three months. I've lived without solid food for nearly a year, and for many months I've endured every type of catheter known to man, until I very nearly lost my whole bladder. My doctors call me a Super Survivor. supersurvivor.tv

The field of emergency general surgery encompasses a wide array of surgical diseases, ranging from the simple to the complex. These diseases may include inflammatory, infectious, and hemorrhagic processes spanning the entire gastrointestinal tract. Complications of abdominal wall hernias, compartment syndromes, skin and soft tissue infections, and surgical diseases are significantly complex in special populations, including elderly, obese, pregnant, immunocompromised, and cirrhotic patients. This book covers emergency general surgery topics in a succinct, practical and understandable fashion. After reviewing the general principles in caring for the emergency general surgery patient, this text discusses current evidence and the best practices stratified by organ system, including esophageal, gastroduodenal, hepatobiliary and pancreatic, small and large bowel, anorectal, thoracic, and hernias. Chapters are written by experts in the field and present a logical, straightforward, and easy to understand approach to the emergency general surgery patient, as well as provide patient care algorithms where appropriate. Emergency General Surgery: A Practical Approach provides surgeons and surgery residents with a practical and evidence-based approach to diagnosing and managing a wide array of surgical diseases encountered on emergency general surgery call.