WOW, what a book -- a perfect guide for those just embarking on a medical journey and a valuable resource for people like me -- already surviving a major illness -- who wish to better manage their health care for all of time.

Author Laura Nathanson, MD, wrote What You Don't Know Can Kill You: A Physician's Radical Guide to Conquering the Obstacles to Excellent Medical Care in honor of the husband she lost after a series of misdiagnoses and for everyone wishing to prevent such tragedy in their own lives.

Nathanson offers readers techniques for identifying signs of misdiagnosis and misleading analysis of symptoms. She shares tips for preventing medical miscommunication, keeping safe in the hospital, and choosing health care plans without falling into the uncovered services trap.

The allure of this book is the easy, non-medical approach Nathanson uses as she urges everyone facing the medical world to take charge of an often inpenetrable system. For the patient who is no stranger to this world, Nathanson's words will ring abundantly true.

"When I look back on that long period of delayed diagnosis and how we were then and later bounced around from one medical specialist to another, the image that pops into my head is that of a slightly mad, grotesque volleyball game -- with the patient as the ball," she writes.

For the patient new to medical confusion, Nathanson's words will impart volumes of truth.

"Here's what I've learned, and what you must learn if you wish yourself and your loved ones to survive a bout with serious illness," she reports. "No matter who you are, physician or not, lucky or not; no matter how rich, famous, successful, good-looking, innocent, kindly or powerful; no matter how close and trusting the relationship you have with those providing your medical care -- you cannot rely on today's medical system to keep you healthy, safe and alive."

Amen.

There is a downside to cancer. There's the distressing diagnosis, the shocking realization that something evil is invading cells and tissues and organs. There's surgery and treatment and loss of hair, loss of blood counts, loss of energy, loss of wellness, loss of future plans and intentions. There's the fear of recurrence and the fear of death and the fear of surviving. Cancer is dark and dismal and daunting. There is no room for argument. There is a downside to cancer.

But there is an upside to cancer too. Really, there is. And a growing body of research suggests cancer changes many people's lives -- like mine -- for the better.

"Cancer gives some survivors a renewed sense of confidence and greater appreciation for their own endurance," says one professor of medicine and public health. "The adversity of treatment may give people the sense that 'I've come through this and I'm stronger.' " Yes!

This same professor says cancer also leads survivors to question their priorities -- and to better manage them. Yes!

She also says survivors tend to find the coping strategies they develop during therapy can help them handle other life problems. Yes!

Many cancer survivors and their families turn to helping others dealing with the disease. It's part of the healing process to give back. And it feels good. Yes!

Cancer almost always is a blessing. This may not be apparent while in the trenches of a cancer fight. But when the smoke clears and the dust settles, blessings emerge. Really, they do.

Laws were established in an attempt to improve women's health by allowing women direct access to obstetricians or gynecologists. Managed-care plans were forced to allow women to make these appointments without having a referral from their primary care physicians. This gave women easier access to get screened for breast and cervical cancer. It was thought that this approach would increase the likelihood of the women getting the preventative tests.

A study was conducted to compare health care utilization among privately insured women before and after passage of direct-access legislation in various states. The study, published in the current issue of Health Services Research, found that there is no evidence for a strong consistent relationship between direct-access legislation and screening rates for breast or cervical cancer.

So it's not working according to lead author Laurence Baker, Ph.D., of the Center for Health Policy at Stanford University. "Good health care requires much more than having these laws in place. Maybe direct access legislation isn't the right way to go about this at all. Consumer and provider education may be better ways of improving population health. Covering preventive care for uninsured individuals is also key." said Baker.

AOL Diet & Fitness is featuring Prevention's 100 Smartest Diet Tips Ever, and it is by far one of the most creative and common sense approaches to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight -- and in hedging your bets with good nutrition against being diagnosed with diseases like cancer. The tips are from registered dietitians in private practice and respected in their field as heads of specialty practice groups for the American Dietetic Association.

Whether you are someone who can only make a small practical change -- or -- looking for ideas on how to get more veggie-goodness into your day -- or -- easy tricks to cut calories -- or -- healthy low-cal dinner ideas if you don't feel like cooking -- there is something for everyone in the list of 100 smartest diet tips ever.

Some of the creative tips include:

• Use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate.
• Keep a food journal. The experts swear this really works wonders.
• Mix three different cans of beans and some diet Italian dressing. Eat this three-bean salad all week.
• Dance to music with your family in your home.
  

Some common sense tips include:

• Fat-free isn't always your best bet. The experts explain why.
• Skipping breakfast will leave you tired and craving naughty foods by midmorning. They give you a quick nutritious breakfast recipe.
• Make vegetables more attractive by avoiding mushy limp vegetables in the refrigerator crisper drawer with ready-to-go bags of frozen vegetables.
• Exercise. It curbs your appetite.
• Drink water frequently. They say it is not how much water you drink but how often. Dehydration slows your metabolism.
  

The last 15 tips are myth busters that take you from fiction to fact and the pitfalls to avoid when it comes to getting the most in diet health benefit. To find out more, go to 100 Smartest Diet Tips Ever for the complete list.