[2][5] Torrey became an activist after she was misdiagnosed with a rare form of cancer.
[6] While scrutinizing her own medical records, she found an error and avoided unnecessary and potentially damaging and dangerous chemotherapy.
[6] In 2009 she wrote the book You Bet Your Life which detailed strategies for patients in avoiding mistakes.
[8] She advocates that patients empower themselves to get the healthcare they deserve, take steps to stay safe when they access care, especially in hospitals, and that they get a "full picture of a doctor's background", including where they went to medical school and their certifications and length of practice.
This article about a United States writer of non-fiction is a stub.