Happiness in a Storm

July 25, 2005
In 1990, Harpham, a physician with three young children, was diagnosed with chronic lymphoma. She has lived through reoccurrences, undergone a variety of therapies and is now in her sixth year of remission. In her latest book, she shares here the guidelines she has developed for becoming a healthy survivor: a patient who gets good care and lives as fully as possible. Harpham (After Cancer: A Guide to Your New Life
) is no Pollyanna and fully acknowledges the devastating physical and emotional toll diagnosis and treatment take. Harpham advocates first choosing a treatment that is based on current scientific knowledge, rather than alternative approaches. Even for chronic conditions, she says, an appropriate plan of action can help control the disease and pain, and provide a sense of empowerment and optimism. The author offers a wealth of suggestions on nourishing hope, and her advice on managing family and financial stresses related to illness is particularly well founded on her own experience. Rather than a rigid program, this is a sensible and realistic compendium of techniques that will help survivors cope with serious illness while embracing times of happiness.