When Women Get Sick - by Rebecca Bloom (Hardcover)

About the Book

Attorney and patient advocate Rebecca Bloom provides crucial guidance for women facing serious illness and for their supporters. When Women Get Sick is a toolkit offering examples, questions, checklists, tips, and stories of real women fighting the fight. This vital resource will help women make informed decisions along their healthcare journey.

Book Synopsis

Giving women the tools to navigate a healthcare system not built for them.

More than twenty-five years ago, Rebecca Bloom left her post as an employee benefits and compensation lawyer at one of the most well-known New York City law firms to pursue her passion for women's health advocacy. Drawing on her expertise in the complex rules that govern employers, insurers, and medical providers--as well as the dynamics between these stakeholders--Bloom has spent decades empowering women to confidently integrate the information and focus fully on recovery and wellness.

In When Women Get Sick Bloom offers much-needed insight to women and their supporters, diving into essential topics such as building support networks, taming the insurance beast, communicating with doctors, and staying mindful. She exposes the way the healthcare industrial complex disadvantages women, and she empowers them to find the support they need.

Using women's stories and Bloom's own experience in the trenches, this book guides readers with examples, questions, checklists, useful information, and tips. There's enough stress and fear surrounding cancer and other serious illnesses. Bloom gives women tools to make the best decisions for them in all areas of their healthcare journey.

Review Quotes

"Trust Rebecca Bloom. Her book will be your guiding angel when you are coping with a cancer diagnosis or another serious illness." --Delia Ephron, screenwriter, author of Left on Tenth

"Bloom shares expert insider advice on how to cut through the infuriating red tape of a health care system optimized for profit rather than cure. This is the kind of time-saving and lifesaving book that shouldn't be necessary in the first place, but given the shambolic state of access to decent medical care for all, it is imperative reading for women and their careers." --Gila Pfeffer, author of Nearly Departed

"A rare mix of legal savvy, practical expertise, feminist perspective--and deep humanity--to help navigate the nation's unruly trio of healthcare, employment, and benefits systems. This is a searing and eye-opening read packed with how-to advice for every imaginable scenario, and Rebecca Bloom is the women's health advocate and champion we all deserve." --Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, executive director, Birnbaum Women's Leadership Network at NYU School of Law

"When Women Get Sick augments our collective vision to see that improvement in women's healthcare must be a holistic movement. By streamlining every level of care--from insurance to HR to diagnosis to treatment--Bloom demonstrates that remedying the injustices so many women encounter in the treatment of illness is imperative in the quest for equity writ large." --Amy E. Herman, author of Visual Intelligence and Fixed

"If you or a woman you care about is in a health crisis, this book is your guide to how to navigate the health care system, the insurance system, and the workplace. This book shouldn't need to exist--but given our current environment, it has to." --Sarah McDonald, author of The Cancer Channel

"I wish I'd had this smart, practical, and deeply comforting book when I was thirty-seven and navigating treatment, with a young son, a growing career, and the demands of family life. Balancing chemotherapy, radiation, and the needs of my loved ones felt overwhelming, and this book provides the kind of comprehensive empowerment I desperately needed then. I'm so glad it's now available to support other women and their families." --Anna Rathkopf, award-winning photographer, director, cancer advocate, and author of HER2

"Bloom combines insights from her experiences as a lawyer, corporate HR leader, and women's health advocate to create a much-needed guide, with creative, engaging writing that makes it an enjoyable read--as well as one I wish I'd had in my own cancer journey." --Sally Joy Wolf, well-being advisor, Stage IV cancer thriver, and advocate, inspirational speaker

"Rebecca Bloom draws on a lifetime of compassion and 25 years' experience as a patient advocate to walk readers through the complex healthcare system and workplace issues, helping women advocate for themselves and their well-being." --Debra Engle, executive director of Story Summit and bestselling author of The Only Little Prayer You Need

"Navigating women's health is complicated, as are the insurance, employer, and provider systems involved in getting the care we need, especially when facing life-threatening issues. That's where this engaging book comes in. Both angel and advocate, Rebecca Bloom offers advice that is deeply intelligent, accessible, personal--and game-changing. It will help you access the information and services you need when the stakes are high." --Jill Sherer Murray, TEDx speaker and author of Big Wild Love

"Bloom has spent decades assisting women through the maze of concerns that arise beyond the actual medical issues--work, insurance, and legal aspects of the journey are all critical to successfully navigating this unfamiliar road. Here, she makes her advocacy even more broadly available to those in need. Avail yourself of Bloom's experience and expertise so you can focus your energy on healing." --Lynn Smolik, MD