The Humanity of Medicine: The Story of Mark E. Ellis, MD

Diagnosed in 1968 at the age of eighteen with a cancerous brain tumor, Mark Ellis was detoured to a life that is not part of any college student's agenda. His freshman orientation week at Wake Forest University would end with a brain operation and a terminal prognosis. Somehow he would defy the odds, survive five years of intense experimental chemotherapy, beat his diagnosis, and live to become a most beloved and visionary cancer physician. This dramatic narration of his life including his childhood, his education, his love of music, his family, his romance, and his illness is a true story that is an inspiring recount of how one man made a difference. You will laugh, you will cry, you will question coincidence, and you will be in awe of his resolve, inspired by his life, and encouraged to follow your own dreams, regardless of the obstacles you face. Recommended For Book Club Reading

Diagnosed in 1968 at the age of eighteen with a cancerous brain tumor, Mark Ellis was detoured to a life that is not part of any college student's agenda. His freshman orientation week at Wake Forest University would end with a brain operation and a terminal prognosis. Somehow he would defy the odds, survive five years of intense experimental chemotherapy, beat his diagnosis, and live to become a most beloved and visionary cancer physician. This dramatic narration of his life including his childhood, his education, his love of music, his family, his romance, and his illness is a true story that is an inspiring recount of how one man made a difference. You will laugh, you will cry, you will question coincidence, and you will be in awe of his resolve, inspired by his life, and encouraged to follow your own dreams, regardless of the obstacles you face. Recommended For Book Club Reading

Lynn Hamilton Ellis grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Wake Forest University in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. She spent most of her professional career as an administrative director in cancer care retiring in 2009 to embark on a new career as a writer. The Humanity of Medicine is her first book, inspired by her late husband of thirty-five years with whom she worked beginning in 1993. Sharing his vision of the integration of complementary therapies such as music therapy, massage therapy, pet therapy, nutritional counseling, guided imagery, social family services, hospice, and patient/family education, combined with traditional state of the art cancer care therapies, she helped her husband create his patent centered dream practice as an oncologist, integrating all services under one roof. With the backing of the health system, she helped to establish an endowment fund to continue to integrate the complementary services for each cancer patient at no charge to the patient or to the patient’s insurance company. At the time of her husband’s death, the endowment fund was renamed in Mark’s honor to be called the Mark E. Ellis, MD Cancer Care Endowment Fund. All of the proceeds from this book will be donated to regional cancer care programs who practice cancer care in accordance with Mark’s vision of cancer care. These programs include, but are not limited to, the Mark E. Ellis, MD Cancer Care Endowment Fund, Hospice House and Support Care of Williamsburg, and Wake Forest University Medical School.