A man with cancer goes on dangerous journeys to find a cure [s]

[Melanie]

I have had no luck finding this and I am beginning to think I imagined this book! A man (maybe a doctor himself?) with cancer (I think he wore a turtleneck to hide the lump in his throat) consults a woman (healer? mystic?) who tells him there is a chance to find a cure. He travels with her (to South America? the Amazon?) and has to complete dangerous tasks / quests (one, I think, involves a lake of lava) and in the end after all of these tasks, his body cures itself. He is aware of the process of his body curing itself in the end. I read this maybe ten years ago and must have gotten it from the library because I don't own it.

[Melanie]

Bump. Anyone?

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Melanie--16 people have looked at your thread, but appearantly none of them know your book. Periodically (about once a month or every 2 months) you can bump it, as we are always getting new members and our members keep reading more books. Sometimes a book is ID'ed immediately, sometimes it takes a while (I've got a couple that I posted years ago, and am still waiting on.) But that patience does pay off--I have had a couple of my "long termers" Id'ed simply BECAUSE I was patient and kept bumping them occassionally. (Altho I usually bump every other month or so, rather than once a month.)

[Melanie]

Thanks. I am beginning to think I dreamed this instead of reading it, though!

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Melanie--a lot of us say that at some point in our search for the title of a missing book. I've said it a time or twenty myself. :o) Just keep bumping it up occassionally and keep the dream alive.

[Andria]

Melanie - I'm guessing this was a fiction book?

[Melanie]

Yes, it is fiction.

[Melanie]

bump

[Melanti]

Melanie,
I remember reading a blurb of a book that sounded very similar to this - oh, ten years ago or so. It also sounded more like a fictionalized biography rather than a pure novel. Didn't read the book, just the cover blurb, so it might not be the same book.

I sort of recall there being a direction in the title - east/west/north/south in the title and maybe something nature related? wind/sky ? Something like that?

Does that sound familiar to you? Hopefully I'm not leading anyone astray.

[Melanie]

Hi Melanti,

Thanks for the response! This was definitely pure novel. In fact, at first I kept thinking it was a Douglas Preston / Lincoln Child book, but it's not.

The title idea doesn't ring any bells, but that might be because I don't remember the title at all.

Thanks again, though!

[Charles]

Possibly Gone South

[Melanie]

Thanks Charles. Gone South looks like fun but it 's not the one I'm looking for.

[Melanie]

Still looking.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

It sounds kind of like The Big Casino.

Beautiful supermodel Anne, devastated by her best friend's tragic death from cancer, is determined to sail single-handedly to Costa Rica, to persuade Doctor Machado, a flora expert, to lead an expedition to the Amazon jungle, in search of a cancer cure.Wealthy lawyer, Max, has just been diagnosed with cancer. With no hope of a cure, he decides to go on a luxury cruise - but with an ulterior motive.Anne and Max are thrown together in unbelievable circumstances, and together they will face the dangers of the jungle and the menacing Tageiri tribe, on the trail of a hidden valley where disease is unknown.Will their quest succeed? Will the mysterious plants in the secret garden yield up their secret?An exploration of cancer and other important issues - from ancient civilizations to modern American politics - interwoven into a gripping tale of love and adventure, is an exciting and intriguing combination.

[Feliks]

To me it sounded vaguely like this:
Medicine Woman
or this:
The Experiment

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

I think this has to be it:
The Fifth Harmonic.

Will Burleigh is a hard-nosed, no-nonsense M.D. totally dedicated to the health and welfare of the patients in his practice. But when he himself is diagnosed with throat cancer, he can't bear the idea of undergoing massive radiation and radical surgery that will leave him permanently disfigured--all with no guarantee he will live at all.

Having made peace with his decision to die, Will is nonetheless convinced by a former patient to visit a healer, a mysterious and beautiful woman named Maya who claims she can help him, but only if he opens himself up completely to her and the harmony of the world around him.

To find that harmony, she insists, Will must follow her to Mesoamerica, to the home of her people, to search for what she calls the Fifth Harmonic. Will agrees, but he secretly brings along what he calls a "Kevorkian Kit" to give him a quick end in case his rapidly spreading tumor gets the best of him. Maya too, has her secrets, and as Will unravels them, he begins to fear he might have made a terrible mistake.

And a GR reviewer adds:
"Each of the protagonist's four mini-quests contained a very predictable level of peril, which made it feel contrived. I think this story would have been more successful as an exploration rather than a thriller; the danger and suspense felt forced and out of place."

[Cheryl]

Wow that does seem spot-on. Melanie, is it right?

[Melanie]

Oh my. I think that's it! How did you find it?!

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

On Worldcat, I think using the filters fiction and subject: cancer. And then looking through pages upon pages of books...

Worldcat searches can be really tricky, especially if you narrow down your search terms too far, then you'll come up with little or nothing. For a long time I would search by keyword, which seemed to be pretty useless. A well-designed Worldcat search is a difficult art. Still, it turns up better results than Google books.

[Melanie]

Thank you so much! This is definitely the book. :)

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

You're welcome.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Congrats Melanie. I've shelved the book and moved this down to Solved for you.