Beat The Medical Odds Review

A Review of Medical Odds   

Beat the Medical Odds is an amazing book developed from research data of people who were not expected to survive their terminal conditions. It is both inspiring and useful. Let me reassure you first – although the book comes out of research it is very readable. Dr Harriet Denz-Penhey wanted to know how and why some people survived terminal illness when most others died.  

All cultures and religions around the world have their miracle stories but unexpected recoveries are usually put down to some aspect of being faithful to their traditions. This is not helpful to someone who is ill who is not part of that tradition and yet wants to become one of the long term survivors.  

The research set out to identify all of the factors that survivors had in common and it did so magnificently. While the factors were similar, how each survivor worked this out is very different. The book gives quotes and portions of their story that supported each of the similarities. The book identifies what was in common with examples of each characteristic chapter by chapter. There is also a summary page where you can see all the similarities at a glance. 

If there is one disappointment in the book it is that I would have liked to read each survivor’s story “whole”, rather than chopped up into bits around each aspect held in common by the survivors. But I can understand why Dr Denz-Penhey has written it in this way. When Dr Denz-Penhey was very ill she wanted some sort of logical checklist to measure herself up against and see what changes she could make. No-one in the medical field could tell her at the time she was ill herself just what it was that set survivors aside. Secondly this book is written as a result of medical research and if the stories were told “whole” it might be possible to identify the individuals – and that is a no-no in research. 

The book focuses on identifying the many core similarities that could easily be missed if we just read their stories. Finding all of the particularities that survivors had in common is what makes this book special. It is the quotes and examples which show how different each survivor was. 

Many of the findings of the research are already known to science, though few in the medical community consider them important enough to tell patients. Other findings are known to Indigenous peoples around the world, but denied by health professionals. Other findings are known by alternative and complementary health professionals. But this is the first time that all of the components have been put together is an easy reading and comprehensive format.

I highly recommend that you have a look at Beat The Medical Odds.