Take charge of your health and stop turning over your life to our confusing and intimidating healthcare system–before it’s too late. Dr. Erika Schwartz believes that today’s patient is but a leaf blowing in the wind of group-think protocols, corrupt medical societies, insurance companies on the take, and a billion dollars in marketing and lobbying pressure from drug companies. What is the quick fix? The answers are here in the ten clear chapters, giving examples every step of the way. It’s a simple process that takes you, the patient, from being a victim to being in charge. Developing personal self-confidence, choosing the right doctor for you, walking out on the wrong ones with impunity, and making the right choices will add up to great healthcare with you at the center. Follow the plan and the facts and change your life and those of your loved ones. Life is to be enjoyed not feared. This book will put enjoyment back into your life and remove the fear and intimidation from your healthcare.

Dr Coleman has been a passionate advocate of patient's rights for over thirty years, and in writing this book he has drawn together a vast amount of information which will help readers to live longer and healthier lives. It shows how patients can protect themselves against an increasingly incompetant and dangerous medical profession.

This book is dedicated to those who seek the truth about total wellbeing and believe they are being slowly killed by their primary care physicians who continue to prescribe copious amounts of drugs for each and every malady. We are having a medical crisis. Do not wait until the morgue can not process the bodies fast enough to have doubt in the medical system. My goal is to inform the general public about the dangers of our fake health care system. Most people do not know that the medications their trusted doctor is prescribing them are killing them slowly! Our health care model is designed to confuse patients and minimize physician responsibility. This book will help you understand how your body works and how YOU can manage your own complete health care, not just specific medical conditions such as hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, cancer, heartburn, depression, insomnia, allergies etc. Instead of empowering patients to know more about their illnesses, doctors have instilled fear in them and prescribed unnecessary drugs, tests, and surgeries to justify large medical bills and make the drug companies obscenely wealthy. Doctors get paid well at our expense (body and wallet). Most of my patients have benefited greatly from my extensive education, deep-rooted culture, diverse background, and utmost honesty in teaching them about medicine the way it should be taught (basic and true), and it was through their inspiration that I wrote this book. In truth I feel I had no choice. No doctor would dare expose the awful truth regarding our broken medical system for fear their financial status will be compromised. My ultimate intention is to help every person maintain an independent mind and body until they breathe their last breath with dignity.

Illness does not happen in isolation but affects all aspects of life. Besides maintaining your balance in life, you have other immediate concerns. It is like a four-legged stool; each leg must be supported to keep the stool level (in equilibrium). Some of the many matters discussed in this book are the issues below. 1.The Illness. The first and most immediate reaction is to deal with the illness. How do you handle the first 48-hours after hearing of your diagnosis? You are adrift in a universe where the standard rules of life don't apply, and like childbirth, if you don't have some guidelines, the unusual situation you face can throw you more smoothly without ideas of what you might encounter. Which treatments should you choose, and should you obtain a second opinion? How soon must to decide on your treatment and will waiting to disadvantage your health? How do you know you have an excellent doctor? These and many more questions need answers.2. Your Support System. How do you set up a support system? If you have friends and family who want to help, how do you coordinate and decide what you need? How can they help without asking you each time? If you don't have access to such support, how do you get help and on-line or community-driven support systems? How do you let your family participate without smothering you and you overwhelming your supporters? 3. Survival in a Financial Environment. If you have a job, what accommodations must your employer make? What rights are afforded you under the American's with Disability Laws? What about health insurance and other insurance? Can you run out and apply for life insurance, or is it too late? Can you continue driving? Can hotels, airports, and other enterprises discriminate against you? How do you obtain a disabled automobile license plate? 4.Estate Planning Documents. Should you execute a living will (durable power of attorney for health care), and if so, how do you fill it out? What does each paragraph mean, and how should you decide each of your choices? Should you do a will or update your trust? What about documents like the end of life care and other legal documents about your medical decisions?