The Light Within: The Extraordinary Friendship of a Doctor and Patient Brought Together by Cancer

by Deborah Sills and Lois M. Ramondetta

Book Overview

The luminous true story of a friendship that shed the boundaries of the doctor-patient relationship and became less a confrontation with death than a celebration of the joys of life When young gynecologic oncology fellow Lois Ramondetta was first summoned to the room of a new patient, neither she nor the forty-nine-year-old professor of religion she encountered named Deborah Sills thought they had much in common. They certainly had no idea that they...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061359416
• ISBN13: 9780061359415
• Release Date: May 2008
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A Compelling Read

This book is an extraordinary account of a deep friendship between a terminal cancer patient and a surgeon - the sort of thing that "is not supposed to happen." The physician allows her empathy for the dying patient to blossom into a full-blown, outside-of-the-hospital friendship including international travel together, and culminating in the writing of this book. The patient, a professor of comparative religion, maintains her zest for life and outgoing personality until the disease gets the best of her. The physician, having an undergraduate degree in comparative religion, is taken in by deep conversations and the importance of living in the present insisted on by the patient. The two form a poignant picture of caring friends, interrupted only by the disease itself. Quite a story! One of those "can't put it down" books.

An incredibly moving story.

I connected to this book on so many levels...as a breast cancer survivor; a caregiver/support person for many friends and relatives with cancer; and a former MD Anderson employee with a special interest in the complexity of physician-patient communications and relationships. It's quite remarkable that Dr. Ramondetta was able to step beyond the traditional "limitations" of her role as a cancer doctor, in order to develop such a deep and enduring relationship with her patient Deb. Clearly, both their lives were the better for having met each other. How inspiring it must have been for Deb to know that her cancer diagnosis created the opportunity to have such a wonderful relationship. I hope everyone who has or will encounter Cancer World (that means all of us, eventually) has a chance to read this book. Kudos to Dr. Ramondetta and Deb for taking the time and spending the emotional energy to create this wonderful legacy and testament to the power of love and friendship.

Moving and Enlightening

It seems odd to read a memoir by someone you know, describing events to which you were something of a witness, but I found my friend Lois Ramondetta's newly published book, The Light Within, to be a great read and a moving account of her friendship with co-author Deborah Rose Sills that began when Sills was a patient at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and ended with Sills' death from ovarian cancer in 2006. Lois is a Gynecological Oncologist and met Sills in 1998 when Lois was a newbie cancer doctor at M. D. Anderson. The book weaves together a number of threads and discusses cancer and its treatment from the perspective of both patient and physician, alternating passages written by Lois with passages written or dictated by Deb. It's also an account of the personal lives of the two women and describes how their growing relationship enriched both of those lives. Highly recommended.

The Light Within

As a physician in this area, I was deeply moved by this book. I urge all cancer physicians to read it. The depth of thought and emotion from the authors are compelling. I would urge anyone battling a cancer to read it. It will help explain the uncertainty, fear and concerns one has while fighting a disease. It also reaches deep into why we live and love. It is uplifting and sad at the same time. The authors are congratulated on sharing such a personal experience for others to benefit from.

Couldn't put it down

A fantastic account of what the subtitle quite accurately describes as an "extraordinary friendship", as well as the doctor/patient relationship, and the cancer journey for both the patient and provider. I read it in one sitting; highly recommend!