New book from AGA helps patients self-manage their IBD and challenges

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) strikes young people between the ages of 15 and 30 most often, but it can appear at any age. It is easy to for the 100,000 people diagnosed with IBD - Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis - each year to feel powerless against this condition, but now, a new book from the AGA helps patients self-manage their IBD and the challenges they face.

Sunanda Kane, MD, MSPH, AGAF, knows about these challenges and what to do next. Through the personal stories of patients in her new book, "IBD Self-Management," Dr. Kane helps patients learn how to prepare for emergencies, flares, treatment failures, surgeries and all the what ifs.

"Writing 'IBD Self-Management' was a true labor of love. It is what I would want to teach all patients if they were a patient newly diagnosed with IBD and were sitting in my office," she said.

Dr. Kane's patients have taught her that "one size doesn't fit all" when it comes to IBD treatment. She delivers straight talk that dispels myths on medications and nontraditional treatments, "healthy gut" diets and diets for flares, and cancer prevention.

"'IBD Self-Management' is the best IBD book I've read (and I have read others)! The real patient examples were very interesting, and I felt like Dr. Kane was speaking directly to me. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for comprehensive information on IBD in an enjoyable and easy-to-read fashion," said Marci Reiss, LCSW, President, IBD Support Foundation, Los Angeles, CA.

"IBD Self-Management" provides patients with reliable, researched-based facts so that they can self-manage their IBD for life. Dr. Kane encourages those with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis to understand their options and embrace their important role in managing their disease.

"Dr. Kane's book is a wonderful source of useful information and support to IBD patients, and an outstanding contribution to the clinical literature for IBD physicians," added Joseph B. Kirsner, MD, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Medicine, The Joseph B. Kirsner Center for the Study of Digestive Diseases, University of Chicago Medical Center, IL.