REVIEW 1 LIVING PROOF

The story of Mavis Schmid shows an incredible will to live and how to handle problematic situations even in the most devastating moments of repeated cancer diagnosis.

None of the diagnosed tumours could break her will and she carried on with both feet firmly on the ground and enjoying life. Amazingly she seems to have emerged mentally stronger from each of these tribulations.

It is very important that in life-threatening situations a balance is found between the patient's own autonomy and desires on the one hand and the limits and possibilities which the medical profession can offer. Such a healthy balance can only be reached through co-operation and mutual trust between doctor and patient.

Finally, Mavis Schmid describes in her book 'Living Proof' how she successfully handled the many critical situations and it must give hope to all those who are confronted by a similar fate - though most people would only experience such an illness once in a lifetime.

This book gives the reader an incentive to take control over his or her own life and not let it be destroyed by illness.

Professor Dr. Matthias Beckmann
University Clinic, Erlangen
Head of Gynaecological Department


REVIEW 2 LIVING PROOF

Living Proof of the power of mind over matter.

A traditional Chinese Doctor was once asked by a patient how he could attain perfect health. The doctor gave a strange reply: 'If you were to be absolutely healthy, you would be dead in no time.' These words imply that sickness is part of our life, moreover, that health and sickness cannot be separated. One depends on the other. A sickness should therefore not be considered an enemy that should be eradicated. It is rather a challenge to adjust to and treat like a respectful partner. Mavis has done this in a most impressive way. She is living proof that mental strength can be called upon successfully to complement modern medicine in dealing with a serious disease. She confirms what traditional doctors (sages) in the past have always lauded: the power of mind over matter.

Hippocrates: It is nature that is the doctor of our disease.
Paracelsus: The best medicine for man is man himself.
Heraclitos: Sickness makes health more enjoyable.

These words are worth contemplating in connection with the successful and courageous relationship that Mavis developed with her disease. She is also a living proof that man can be the best medicine for himself and that sickness can contribute to spiritual advancement.

Peter Hubral - Author of the book Wisdom and Hygiene of the Soul. (Dao-Meister Platon) 2008


A WORD FROM MAVIS SCHMID

Today I am setting the table for some old friends on the patio. We'll probably talk into the evening and hopefully not about cancer! As we reminisce, conversation will probably come round to the children and grandchildren. It's not that I don't reflect on how far we've come, just that I have plenty of life to get on with. And you can read about the five primary cancers in my book - Living Proof. I'm amazed at how my frail body has recovered from each operation, but in the book I leave it to several of the top professors of surgery, medicine and oncology to explain how exceptional my recoveries have been - perhaps unique in medical history. I do take you into the depths but my story brings you back - from a terrifying forty-four kilos. I have been able to regain my strength and bring my weight back each time to some fifty-four to fifty-six kilograms - between eight and a half and nearly nine stone. A weight as heavy as I've ever been in my life. While I get on with my evening I leave it to the professors and Living Proof to show you what happened.


INFORMATION: LIVING PROOF - SURVIVING FIVE PRIMARY CANCERS

13-DIGIT ISBN 978-0-9562760-2-5
BOOK TITLE Living Proof: Surviving Five Primary Cancers
AUTHOR SCHMID, Mavis
BIC CATEGORY BTP, MJCL, MJCL1, MJCL2, MNK,
SELLING PRICE UK £10.99, Europe €12.90, US $23
PAGES NO 204
BINDING STYLE Perfect bound
DIMENSION 204 x 128mm
PUBLISHER Rudling House