The Seesaw Syndrome

Rating:
Summary: A medical thriller with a critical major message
Review: "I advise without hesitation and unreservedly against the publication of this book which is gloom and horror unrelieved. One feels that what is at the bottom of his fierceness is not nearly so much desire to help the poor as hatred of the rich."

So wrote a consultant to MacMillan publishers.The novel was Upton Sinclair's The Jungle.No one wanted to accept the heinous conditions of the Chicago stockyards one hundred years ago. The book was eventually published, the country shocked, and Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act. The Jungle is one of a series of important responsible "muckraker" books (The Silent Spring, Unsafe at Any Speed) that exposed industries whose arrogant zeal for profits compromised the health and safety of the country.
The Seesaw Syndrome, an exciting medical thriller, follows in that tradition. It addresses an unholy, growing alliance between academic medicine and the pharmaceutical industry. Written by an imminent surgeon, Michael Madden, the novel reveals the common practice of gifts given to medical students, drugs samples given to doctors, subsidized post graduate conferences, free cruise seminars, bonuses for doctors in recruiting patients into drug studies, and finally, the intellectual and financial compromise senior academics face in order to ensure that major pharmaceutical research projects result in success (and approval) by the FDA.
Madden uses a drug which most people have now heard of - growth hormone. Until recently its use has been limited to those hormonally deficient, but now it may find wider "use" by families who perceive that their children are short in stature. (Hence the novel's title, when hypothetically, there is a competition between a parent's desire to better the Jones' kids next door.) The choice of drug (it could have been any "break through" medication) is ingenious, as it is real. Inappropriate use by aspiring athletes - as has been the case with steroids - could be disastrous. The novel's characters are individually crafted yet Dickensian in scope, and familiar to anyone who has worked at a major medical institution: the idealistic, struggling junior staffers, officious nurses, fustian departmental chiefs, bureaupathic administrators, and cozenous pharmaceutical reps. The setting is Manhattan, its hospitals and environs which provide an interesting backdrop. Through its main characters, there are interesting asides about the history of American medicine, transmogrification of academic medicine from guardian to enabler, and the growing power of the pharmaceutical industry. Most TV viewers are aware of the recent insidious tactic of bypassing the physician to hawk prescription drugs to the public through ads like the smilin', dancin' T'ai Chi senior. These media-medical-pharmaceutical interrelationships are disturbing, quite real, and of increasingly concern by many in medicine today. It is not unlike the beef industry a century ago, or automotive and chemical companies fifty years ago. It may take a muckraker to alert the public and change business practices, but is has to be done, and Madden has written a riveting wake up call that everyone should enjoy, even if the message is disturbing.

Rating:
Summary: A medical thriller with a critical major message
Review: "I advise without hesitation and unreservedly against the publication of this book which is gloom and horror unrelieved. One feels that what is at the bottom of his fierceness is not nearly so much desire to help the poor as hatred of the rich."

So wrote a consultant to MacMillan publishers.The novel was Upton Sinclair's The Jungle.No one wanted to accept the heinous conditions of the Chicago stockyards one hundred years ago. The book was eventually published, the country shocked, and Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act. The Jungle is one of a series of important responsible "muckraker" books (The Silent Spring, Unsafe at Any Speed) that exposed industries whose arrogant zeal for profits compromised the health and safety of the country.
The Seesaw Syndrome, an exciting medical thriller, follows in that tradition. It addresses an unholy, growing alliance between academic medicine and the pharmaceutical industry. Written by an imminent surgeon, Michael Madden, the novel reveals the common practice of gifts given to medical students, drugs samples given to doctors, subsidized post graduate conferences, free cruise seminars, bonuses for doctors in recruiting patients into drug studies, and finally, the intellectual and financial compromise senior academics face in order to ensure that major pharmaceutical research projects result in success (and approval) by the FDA.
Madden uses a drug which most people have now heard of - growth hormone. Until recently its use has been limited to those hormonally deficient, but now it may find wider "use" by families who perceive that their children are short in stature. (Hence the novel's title, when hypothetically, there is a competition between a parent's desire to better the Jones' kids next door.) The choice of drug (it could have been any "break through" medication) is ingenious, as it is real. Inappropriate use by aspiring athletes - as has been the case with steroids - could be disastrous. The novel's characters are individually crafted yet Dickensian in scope, and familiar to anyone who has worked at a major medical institution: the idealistic, struggling junior staffers, officious nurses, fustian departmental chiefs, bureaupathic administrators, and cozenous pharmaceutical reps. The setting is Manhattan, its hospitals and environs which provide an interesting backdrop. Through its main characters, there are interesting asides about the history of American medicine, transmogrification of academic medicine from guardian to enabler, and the growing power of the pharmaceutical industry. Most TV viewers are aware of the recent insidious tactic of bypassing the physician to hawk prescription drugs to the public through ads like the smilin', dancin' T'ai Chi senior. These media-medical-pharmaceutical interrelationships are disturbing, quite real, and of increasingly concern by many in medicine today. It is not unlike the beef industry a century ago, or automotive and chemical companies fifty years ago. It may take a muckraker to alert the public and change business practices, but is has to be done, and Madden has written a riveting wake up call that everyone should enjoy, even if the message is disturbing.

Rating:
Summary: medical thriller
Review: A terrific adventure. Both my wife and I found ourselves riveted to this story behind today's headlines. Dr. Madden writes with a breadth of knowledge that's unique in his ability to gracefully weave medical information to the lay reader that, in fact, becomes part of the action. Highly recommended to anyone who has ever visited a doctor, been in a hospital or purchased prescription drugs.

Rating:
Summary: An original and superbly crafted novel of greed
Review: The Seesaw Syndrome by Michael Madden is an original and superbly crafted novel of greed, corruption, and ill-gotten gains as drug executives and medical researchers exploit the power they have for tremendous profit. A new drug is debuted, that promotes weight recovery among patients ravaged by cancer - yet when a young woman and her mentor learns that it promotes tumor growth as well, they are marked as targets to be silenced. Gripping and suspenseful reading.

Rating:
Summary: Breaks the Mold
Review: The Seesaw Syndrome is a welcome change from the formula thriller books that are foisted upon us every fall. Instead of a litany of violence, the suspense builds gradually, and the author uses wit and humor to expose the dangers of a health care system dominated by the pharmaceutical industry. Madden's writing style is lean, and the biomedical details are wholly convincing. This book has a suspense core with a literary feel. It's entertaining, but at the same time it's a cautionary tale. Ask your doctor if this book is right for you. He/she will definitely say yes.

Rating:
Summary: Gripping And Timely Medical Thriller
Review: This timely thriller of medical scandal and suspense is written by one New York City's most accomplished trauma surgeons. Dr. Michael Madden's penetrating examination of America's pharmaceutical establishment will have you holding your breath till the very last page.

The story is well written and the pace respectful of the fact that I, as a lay person, was entering behind the scenes of the medical and pharmaceutical industry. I found this book fascinating, informative and highly provocative.

This novel is a great read! I recommend it to anyone who loves good medical suspense stories.