Live Strong

January 1, 2005
The survivors whose candid accounts of their diagnosis, treatment and life after cancer are included in this engrossing collection have faced formidable adversity-not only the disease, but irresponsible care from physicians, insensitive friends and family members and long-term effects such as infertility and a difficult search for a post-cancer identity-but have managed to surmount these obstacles with bravery, indestructible will and humor. The alarming number of stories of careless doctors (one survivor's doctor even dismissed the lump in her breast as nothing to worry about, telling her, "Asian women don't get breast cancer") prompts many survivors to implore others who have been diagnosed not to be afraid "to be incredibly aggressive, stubborn, and even obnoxious at times, because there's nobody out there who cares about your life more than you do." Though some survivors have dealt with the cold reactions of friends and even spouses, they found cancer had improved their relationships with those who remained in their lives. These more meaningful relationships are just one reason why some survivors say cancer changed their lives for the better; one man reasoned he "never would have run a half-marathon at ten thousand feet in Crested Butte, Colorado" if cancer hadn't been part of his life. The formation of these accounts from interviews causes them to be jumpy, but the honest discussions of everything from side effects to survivor guilt will not only be informative to those whose lives have been affected by cancer, but inspirational to anyone who reads these astonishing displays of bravery.

October 15, 2005
Presently more than ten million Americans are living through or beyond cancer. The Lance Armstrong Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1997 by cycling champion and cancer survivor Armstrong to promote cancer education, advocacy, public health services, and research, features first-person narratives by 26 survivors who -live[d] strong - from -diagnosis to [conventionally based] treatment to beyond. - These storytellers differ in cancer diagnosis, age, ethnicity, and background, an approach that contrasts with narrative collections focusing on one type of cancer or one individual's survivorship, e.g., Betty Rollin's "Last Wish". The stories here cover treatment-related decision making, therapy descriptions (with physical and emotional side effects), and sources of strength (e.g., family and God); -beyond - stages include transformations in priorities, beliefs, and relations with others. Despite some graphic surgical- and therapy-related details, these stories are not intimidating or self-serving. Their messages of courage and strength will apply to anyone touched directly or indirectly by both cancerous and noncancerous challenges. A great accompaniment to Elena Dorfman and Heidi Schultz Adams's similar narrative collection, "Here and Now: Inspiring Stories of Cancer Survivors"; recommended for all consumer health and public libraries." -Janice Flahiff, Medical Univ. Lib. of Ohio, Toledo"

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.