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If you were recently diagnosed with cancer or are currently going
through cancer treatment, you will find a lot of practical advice and
encouragement in Julie K. Silver, MD's new book, What Helped Get Me Through:
Cancer Survivors Share Wisdom and Hope, published by the
American Cancer Society.
The book, which is based on first-hand accounts from cancer
survivors and interviews with leading cancer experts, will help you
cope with both day-to-day concerns (How should my diet change during
treatment?) and complex emotional issues (How do I talk to my children
about cancer?), and it does so in an easy-to-read, personal way.
Dr. Silver is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School
and the author of two other books, including After Cancer Treatment: Heal
Faster, Better, Stronger and Super Healing. In
2006, she was awarded the American Cancer Society Lane Adams Quality of
Life Award. This year marks her 5th year as a breast cancer survivor.
For this book, Silver surveyed nearly 300 cancer survivors
from all walks of life: teachers, executives, stay-at-home moms, and
several celebrities, including Lance Armstrong, Scott Hamilton, Sharon
Osbourne, and Carly Simon. She asked them all sorts of questions about
their cancer experience, like how friends made a difference, what they
did to relieve stress, how they balanced work and family, how their
bodies and intimacy were affected by cancer, and how cancer changed
their lives.
The result is a book that's chockfull of candid personal
stories about living with cancer and lists of real-world coping
strategies.
Friends and family of cancer patients and survivors should get
a lot out of this book, too. Some chapters in particular might be
especially illuminating: "How My Family Helped," "What Would Have
Helped but Was Too Hard to Ask," "How My Body and Intimacy Were
Affected," and "How Cancer Changed My Life." It can sometimes be
difficult to know how best to reach out to the person with cancer, and
these candid chapters offer real insight into what the person with
cancer may be thinking, feeling, and most in need of.
What Helped Get
Me Through: Cancer Survivors Share Wisdom and Hope is now
available through the American Cancer Society's bookstore. Two other
books authored by Silver's children and written for children also are
available in the bookstore: Our
Mom Is Getting Better and Our Dad Is Getting Better.
Published: 10/14/2008
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