When Blood Breaks Down

Acknowledgements
Preface
Chapter 1: Leukemia arrives by dark of night
Chapter 2: A bleak start to life
Chapter 3: A time for decisions
Chapter 4: The purgatory of the hospital
Chapter 5: Free at last
Chapter 6: Things fall apart
Chapter 7: A life extinguished, a life awakened
Epilogue
References
Index

Mikkael A. Sekeres, MD, is Chief of the Division of Hematology in the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He writes regularly for the Well section of the New York Times.

"[A] fascinating debut This is a powerful look at a disease that forces patients to make 'decisions that no person should ever have to make.'"
Publishers Weekly

"What makes this narrative so compelling is the author's ability to bring readers with him on his rounds as he meets each patient and family member, discusses treatment options, and follows them through weeks of treatment, reviewing lab results and bone marrow biopsies, and, when necessary, discussing next steps such as bone marrow transplants...That three patient narratives should prove so effective a lesson is a tribute to Sekeres as both storyteller and physician."
Kirkus Reviews

"With grace and fluency, Sekeres offers more than a scientific portrait of leukemia; he also includes personal stories about the origins of the disease; the complexities of the doctor-patient relationship; and how leukemia treatment, such as chemotherapy, can impact patients along with their families. Sekeres combines literary substance with significant medical information and data. The engaging stories in this book, both personal and scientific, make it a good choice for readers interested in solid literature on medicine, especially cancer research."
Library Journal

"A look at leukemia patients' fear, survival and grace while fighting the disease...a quiet chronicle of life with and beyond leukemia, and sometimes life's end."
 The Washington Post 

"Dr. Sekeres accomplishes something that most authors in this genre fail to do: He wrote a book that will capture the imagination of the scientific and medical audiences, along with the lay public...Readers will be elevated by the grace and humanity on page after page."
The ASCO POST

"Sekeres provides an intimate portrait while also cleaving to good medical science, a demanding task that allows him to accomplish his educational and humanitarian mission. The prose is accessible, important concepts are