Neil Spector is a leading oncologist at Duke University Medical Center whose terrifying misdiagnosis almost resulted in his death. His story is one of personal struggle, hope, survival and advocacy. He was in peak physical health when he began experiencing bizarre symptoms that doctors attributed to stress, but Neil suspected there was something much more serious going on. After years of inconclusive results and more than a decade of living with only 10% heart function, a series of life threatening complications resulted in heart failure. Neil even considered taking his own life after being told he had only 72 hours to live without a heart transplant. Fortunately for Neil, he survived with a miraculous heart transplant and has become an advocate for patient care and protection. In addition to his own experience from the perspective of a patient and a doctor, Neil can talk about the pitfalls of the medical system, what patients need to know to protect themselves and his medical research among other topics. Neil chronicled his experience in a new book, “Gone in a Heartbeat – A Physician’s Search for True Healing” that came out on Feb. 14.Neil joined us to chat about the book, his incredible 11 year journey to the root cause of his health issues, as well as a few near-death experiences, where his heart rate skyrocketed and he felt the end was near, if not for a ‘warmth’ that enveloped him and made him feel safe!To catch up with Neil:http://medicine.duke.edu/faculty/details/0412802Hear Neil on “Matters Of The Mind” with Dr. Peter Sacco at 8p EST on Wednesday by clicking the Listen Live button at the top right, but if you miss it, it will be on demand Thursday, right here!https://soundcloud.com/rtds/sets/matters-of-the-mindOr find us on iTunes Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/rtds-listen-up-talk/id910538503?mt=2#afterlife, #cancer, #disease, #dukeuniversity, #ECG, #health, #heart, #hope, #journey, #lime, #medical, #misdiagnosis, #neardeath, #neilspector, #oncologist, #podcast, #suicide, #whitelight, #Amazon, #author, #wellness