Nika C. Beamon is a seasoned writer in New York who’s balanced a busy career as a television writer and author while battling a mystery illness and without complaint. She was chronically ill and didn’t know what or why because doctors were clueless. In her upcoming memoir, Misdiagnosed: The Search for Dr. House, Beamon sheds light on how “to get the correct diagnosis after years of the worming one, as well as providing tips on how other can avoid the same, care for the chronically ill and things chronically ill people need to do to be safe and prepared.”
“Written in a conversational and brutally honest fashion, Misdiagnosed gives a voice to the 30 million Americans diagnosed with rare diseases, who have struggled to figure out what ails them and continue to live with their conditions,” she shares. “This frank and engaging story takes the reader on journey through her various hospital trips, and procedures, as well as her feeling and emotions that are as real as they are raw. It also introduces them to a quirky cast of characters who go through this 17-year odyssey with her until she finally finds out that she has a rare autoimmune disorder called IgG4 related systematic disease.”
The book has been endorsed by bestselling authors Wes Moore, Marya Hornbacher and Richard Cohen (Meredith Vieira’s husband) as well as Dr. Robert Lahita of UMDNJ and the Nation Women’s Health Network.
She adds, “It gives people suffering with chronic conditions, rare or not, tips on how to continue to search for answer even when doctors have given up or seem clueless to assist. I also provide tips on how to care for someone who is chronically ill and the things all single chronically ill people should do to make things easier for their family and friends. Additionally, I give a list of things everyone can do to ensure the best healthcare possible.”
Why Beamon’s Misdiagnosed is a must read:
- Misdiagnosed sheds light the experiences of African American and other minorities who have a well-documented history of getting substandard or inadequate medical treatment in the U.S. A research study cited in a February 14, 2010 Daily Beast article said “race-related differences in health care cost the country 229 billion between 2003 and 2006” alone; a fact that “Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius called ‘just stunning and shocking.’”
- Misdiagnosed serves a cautionary guide to anyone who falls ill or has a loved one suffering with an ailment in the US. A recent John Hopkins study found that hospital errors lead to as many as 40,500 patients dying annually. The Mayo Clinic found 26 percent of cases are misdiagnosed; this number rises to a staggering 44 percent when it comes to some types of cancer according to the Journal of Clinical Onocology. These mistakes cost nearly one third of the 2.7 trillion spent in the US on healthcare. A study published in April showed one in every 20 people or 12 million per year are misdiagnosed at outpatient clinics in the U.S.
