Halachic Considerations in Cancer Prevention and Management

Includes practical information and guidance

Few words in the dictionary are more frightening than “cancer.” For Torah-observant Jews, there is an added element of complexity when it comes to cancer, whether regarding preventive measures or, R”l, an actual diagnosis.

 • At what age should we screen for certain cancers, and to what extent are we halachically obligated to do so?
 • In which situations does the medical community recommend prophylactic surgery, and does halachah require a person to undergo such surgeries?
 • Is it permissible and/or required to participate in clinical trials when standard treatment options fail to control a person’s cancer?
 • What degree of autonomy does halachah grant a patient with metastatic cancer who is at the end of his or her life?

Dr. Moshe Ornstein is a veteran, frum oncologist who has also spent years learning and teaching halachah. In this book, he provides in-depth halachic analyses and discussions of common cancer-related topics, all written in a clear, easy-to-read manner. In addition to the halachic overviews the book offers, it is also a source of relevant and practical medical information about cancer prevention and treatment in general.

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I received your book Cancer in Halachah, and I find it useful for both scholarly and practical purposes, as well as informative in preventing the disease…
Rav Shmuel Kamenetzky

I am certain that this book will be very beneficial for patients struggling with this disease as well as for their families, and that it will increase the awareness amongst Klal Yisrael of how to prevent this disease from taking hold amongst us…
Rav Asher Weiss

Each chapter contains an excellent, up-to-date halachic discussion… I strongly recommend this book for all cancer patients, their families, and policymakers in this field of medicine.
Rabbi Prof. Avraham Steinberg, MD