The Cancer Story

Each of us will be touched by cancer in the course of our lifetime – as a person diagnosed with the disease or as a family member or friend who must witness its course in someone we love. For all of us, this encounter with cancer will entail an exploration of the margins of life and death. Too often, especially once the curative stage is passed, patients and their loved ones make this journey in silence and without the full support of a medical system whose chief mandate is to "win the battle" against cancer. In Cancer Stories five people share their journeys, their stories, and the suffering they faced before their deaths. These narratives chronicle the despair, hope, and love they experienced while living and dying with cancer, giving the power of the human spirit full voice. Lessons learned are presented as "gifts" at the conclusion of each of the five narratives. This book is for people living with the disease and their caregivers. Nurses and physicians, students in any health-related discipline, as well as persons engaged in qualitative research will also find this an invaluable resource. The importance of incorporating qualitative, research-based approaches in caring for the dying emerges from the narratives. Cancer Stories points toward a more holistic research/treatment agenda, one that bridges the medical and social sciences. David M. Gregory is associate professor in the Faculty of Nursing, University of Manitoba. Cynthia K. Russell is assistant professor in the College of Nursing, University of Tennessee, Memphis.

2004 Midwestern Regional Emmy Award winner.

Surviving the Storm presents a humanistic psychological perspective on how to support cancer survivors by offering an individualized narrative structure designed to help them tell their stories. This is a book for people who need to tell the story of how they've been touched by cancer. It doesn't tell what to eat, or how much to exercise, or what to think and feel. Instead, it introduces a contemplative perspective and gives readers a pragmatic structure to help them tell their unique story of surviving or living with cancer. It helps them discover their authentic voice, giving them a way to speak in their own words. Workbook sections are the core of this book and offer a narrative structure created for patients, partners, families, and friends with an emphasis on the different needs and questions of each group. This book focuses on the whole person, their potential, and their natural drive toward authenticity. A contemplative perspective emphasizes shared human needs such as love, belonging, and personal meaning, and expands beyond the learning-based behavioral and psychosocial resources that are currently available to cancer patients and their families. The book provides options that differ from the support group and medical models of treatment, opening up an alternative to the mode of managing or tolerating the issues of cancer into the realm of awareness, exploration, acceptance, and transformation. While it is tempting to find solutions and try to there is much to be gained from learning how to live with uncertainty and from delving more deeply into the emotional residue of cancer. Included are definitions of the different phases of cancer survivorship, material that gives survivors a viewpoint that normalizes the challenges they face, and current research and literature. Personal stories of cancer survivors are highlighted, and poetry and writings related to cancer are interspersed throughout the book to make it more personal.

THRIVING WITH CANCER Survival doesn't have to be a cancer patient's only goal, and feeling overwhelmed doesn't have to describe what it's like to go through treatment. Focusing on one's purpose and goals can make every day more manageable. In a book that tells the harrowing story of his own diagnosis and treatment alongside his wife's and his eldest son's battles with cancer, Ross Suozzi encourages readers to see that a "successful" treatment comes from actively plotting a positive approach to each and every day. Reflecting on his own trials and errors, he offers a step-by-step guide filled with helpful suggestions for cancer patients and those who love and care for them. Suozzi details his family's discovery that a semi-structured and thoughtful approach to daily living can do wonders when it comes to navigating the confusion, letdowns, and pains that arise during treatment. Conscientious planning can help to lower anxiety, boost overall well-being, and even make room for moments that are full of life's exuberance. This book tackles personal and family issues that aren't often raised by medical professionals and shines a light on what matters most: experiences that give life meaning and purpose. Cancer: It's Not a Death Sentence is about reaching for happiness and recovery in the face of sudden life-threatening situations like cancer, and reviews the caregiving, life, and health challenges of survivors and members of Ross Suozzi's family. Where other cancer memoirs often become singular focuses blending personal experience with recovery and medical insights, Suozzi's ability to cover both sides of the cancer coin creates an atmosphere that is as specific about emotional hurdles as it is about treatments, what works and what doesn't, and how to handle not just physical but psychological and social challenges surrounding cancer. This cancer survivor's ability to incorporate all these facets under one cover represents a unique approach to his subject that will educate and enlighten not just fellow sufferers, but caregivers, families, friends, and anyone whose lives have been touched by a cancer diagnosis. James A. Cox Editor-in-Chief Midwest Book Review

Memoir of a four-time cancer survivor LAUREN SEGAL Cancer: A Love Story is the intimately searing memoir of a four-time cancer survivor. The book breathlessly tracks author Lauren Segal’s journey to come to terms with the untold challenges of facing the dreaded disease. Forced to face her needle phobia, the author leads the reader into her crumbling world as she confronts the terrors of treatment—from debilitating chemo to nuking radiation. Death is her uninvited companion. But in the midst of her lonely horror, in a quest for deeper meaning, Lauren discovers the unexpected gift of awareness of unanticipated opportunities that cancer presents—to confront her unmasked humanity—her fears, strengths and weaknesses. “I have come to understand that in the same way that the majestic lotus flower has its roots in murky waters, so too does the emergence of beauty in life sometimes depend on life’s darker events.” Lauren Segal currently works as a museum curator; her most recent project is curating and designing the new Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre. She heads up Trace, a research, design and exhibition company. Inspired by her own journey into self-discovery and healing, Lauren is currently studying part-time to become a psychoanalyst. “What a privilege to read this immensely inspirational and brave story. Lauren’s personality and energy leaps off the page – the mark of a natural and gifted writer.” —David Cohen, campaigns editor and chief feature writer, London Evening Standard

The Inspiration Cancer Story By Sonia E. Chevannes When Sonia E. Chevannes was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012, she wasn’t sure where to turn. But among the countless doctor’s appointments, chemotherapy treatments, and unclear answers, she decided to turn to God—and then the answers became clear. The Inspiration Cancer Story will help others stand up to cancer or adversity in their lives. Prayer worked for Sonia. It can work for you.