cover image Joslin Guide to Diabetes: A Program for Managing Your Treatment

Joslin Guide to Diabetes: A Program for Managing Your Treatment

Richard S. Beaser, Joan V. C. Hill. Fireside Books, $15 (352pp) ISBN 978-0-684-80208-4

The nation's third leading fatal disease after heart disease and cancer, diabetes is the primary cause of blindness in working-age Americans and the cause for most cases of end-stage kidney failure and lower-extremity amputations. With judicious self-care and medical treatment, however, diabetics need not become part of these statistics, observes Beaser, chairman of Patient Education at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston and associate professor at the Harvard Medical School. In this excellent, no-nonsense introduction to self-care for both insulin-dependent and noninsulin-dependent diabetics, he emphasizes the need for proper diet, weight control and exercise, and for frequent monitoring of blood sugar and ongoing medical supervision. Suggesting guidelines for office visits, medical tests that should be done regularly and questions to ask one's healthcare team, Beaser discusses insulin pumps, diabetes pills and what lies on the horizon of current diabetes research. Most valuably, he offers diabetics procedures for controlling their disease and, thus, their lives. This book belongs in the hands of all diabetics and those who share in their care and well-being. (July)