Finding the "CAN" in Cancer

to be very useful

Relationships

"…It’s a gem. Many of the usual topics are covered – communicating with your doctor(s), telling the kids coping with side effects, helping others to help you – but in an unusually candid way… The level of detail on side effects is rich and personal… The effect is quite intimate, as if you were sharing the living room with four good-humored, wise and earnest life-coaches… You may have encountered similar sentiments in other books on cancer journeys but seldom will they hit home so convincingly as in this ‘practical guide.’"
Harriet Whitehead, Ph.D.
Resource Center Coordinator
Duke University Cancer Center
Durham, NC

As a patient at Duke University's Morris Cancer Clinic I was given a copy of this book. What a gift! This is the most comprehensive "help" I've found yet. The warmth and compassion of these women (the authors) is felt in every page and their goal of helping people with cancer is met with kindness and understanding.

Once I started this book I did not put it down until I had finished reading it. Now, I find myself using it often when I experience something new or different and can't quite figure it out.

You can't help but feel so amazed at these women's stories and they are able to give you the hope that if they can live a long time with good quality with this awful disease then you can too! Hope is what keeps you fighting this battle!

Several years ago, my Mom (Susan Moonan) and three friends endeavored to write a practical guide for cancer patients. Mom was very excited about this book, but wasn't able to see its completion before her death in January 2004.

In April 2005, the book was published! The two surviving authors decided to publish through lulu.com, and are working toward non-profit status of an organization called Wings for a Cure to be able to distribute these books to cancer centers.

In my completely biased opinion, this book is the most wonderful resource for cancer patients that I have ever seen! :-) Take that statement as you will, but know that this book is truly an apt legacy to my Mom's mission of service to others.

Throughout Mom's life, she confronted enormous challenges due to cancer. Mom had a special gift of analyzing those challenges and finding ways to make them less challenging for others. Her compassion and perspective has touched the lives of other patients and the volunteers who have worked next to her.

Cancer is overwhelming, and it is important to know immediately that there is support available. In 1988, Mom was given the Courage Award by the Florida Division of the American Cancer Society. In an article from the ACS publication "Living with Cancer in Florida", Spring 1989, Mom was quoted as follows:

"During the time of my treatment, my family and faith were the keys. Everyone needs to have family and friends for day-to-day support, and it helps when they deal with the disease well. But at some point you say to yourself, 'Even though they are understanding, they still cannot know what this feels like.' That's when […it is so important to] share your story with people who have that common denominator of cancer. Patients need to be able to talk with someone who knows and who has gone through it before ... who brings the human side into focus."

Finding the "CAN" in Cancer brings the human side into focus. It is filled with practical information; tips that will personalize and empower anyone struggling with cancer. Those of us who knew and loved Mom now have the gift of being able to see her wisdom, and the wisdom of her good friends Nancy, Pam and Terri, continue to touch others.