Cancer Survivor Stories: A Reading List
Annotation:A self-indulgent, if oftentimes poignant, reflection of a lawyer-turned-rocker and mother of two's battle with a particularly virulent strain of breast cancer.
Annotation:"I'd like to recommend Anya Krugovoy Silver's recently published book of poetry, The Ninety-Third Name of God. Most of these poems address her own struggle with breast cancer." ~ Anna-Liisa
Annotation:This is a very readable account of the history of the 'fight' against cancer, written by an oncologist. A thorough 'backgrounder'.
Annotation:A breast cancer survivor herself, Ehrenreich offers a searing account of her own experiences in a section titled, "Smile! You're Got Cancer!" Her dismissal of the "positive" attitudes after her diagnosis has been known to rub some people the wrong way, but many find it honest and refreshing.
Annotation:A thoughtful autobiographical account of a man's struggle with cancer. Higley candidly talks about cancer claiming various members of his immediate family growing up, tying this into his present struggle with the disease and how he uses what he learned to be a better father.
Annotation:Perhaps one of the world's most well known cyclists, Lance Armstrong doesn't write here about winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times; he talks about how his terrifying battle with testicular cancer ultimately changed the way he lives.
Annotation:This book opens with the amazing story of Ellin Klor, a children's librarian from Santa Clara, California. On her way to a knitting circle in Palo Alto, Ellin tripped and managed to lodge one of her knitting needles squarely in her chest. It turns out, the needle had gone all the way through her sternum. The needle's tip was now piercing the outer most level of her heart. If her initial survival wasn't already fantastic enough, it was necessary to fly Klor throughout California to the top specialists to try and find a way to remove the knitting needle safely. In the process or reviewing her CT scans, one of her doctors saw a suspicious lymph node. Further testing revealed that she had breast cancer. After going through treatment, doctors were able to stop the cancer in its tracks. By stabbing herself through the heart accidentally, Ellin Klor may have in fact saved her own life.
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http://bit.ly/cancerbooks - There's a few books that I've read over the last few years that have inspired me to join the fight to end cancer, so I thought I might share a few of these titles with you. While this is by no means a comprehensive list, they are books that will make you think about an issue that affects nearly all of us in one way or another.
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