Books

Below is a list of recommended reading. Most of these books are available at the Cancer Center.

Cancer Etiquette,
by Rosanne Kalick
An etiquette guide for friends, family, and caregivers of cancer patients. The book offers tips and suggestions on what to say or not to say; what to do or not to do; and what to give or not to give. The author is a two-time cancer survivor who has been able to write about her experiences, including her good and bad interactions with people, in this detailed, valuable, life-affirming, and timeless guide.

Diagnosis: Cancer - Your Guide to the First Months of Healthy Survivorship, by Wendy Harpham
A guide written in question and answer format and is designed to educate and inspire people who are diagnosed with cancer. The author, who is a doctor and cancer survivor offers practical and straightforward information based on the belief that knowledge brings comfort, hope, and a better chance for improvement. In this wonderful read, she imparts all of the learning she has gained, both medically and emotionally, to help other patients cope with cancer. This book has helped thousands of cancer patients and their families. It is an empowering book for patients diagnosed with any type of cancer. Diagnosis Cancer covers all the important topics that will help you through these first few confusing and often scary months of diagnosis in a way that fits your individual needs.

Head First: The Biology of Hope
By Norman Cousins
In Anatomy of an Illness, a pioneering account of his triumph over a severe illness, Norman Cousins recounted in aspiring detail the helpful effect that positive attitudes and a partnership with his physician had on his recovery. His personal experience led Cousins to an unusual quest: the search for proof that hope, faith, laughter, and the will to live are biochemical factors that can actually help combbat serious disease.

Drawing on his experiences as a faculty member at the UCLA School of Medicine and on hundreds of interviews with doctors, patients, medical students, and research scientists, Cousins provides the exciting medical evidence he helped uncover. He shows how an optimistic outlook and a strong relationship with your doctor can make illness less painful and increase your chances of survival. Good medicine for doctors and patients alike, Head First will restore your faith in the healing powers of the human spirit.

Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories that Heal,
by Rachel Naomi Remen, MD
Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D., puts together a collection of stories that are truly hope-inspiring. All of the stories in this collection are short, profound and based on her interactions with others who have shared their stories with her throughout the years. Remen explores cancer and the pain of a diagnosis and how it affects our own attitude, prognosis, how we live, and the change it brings to the lives of those around us. Reading this book is a delightful invitation to explore the seeds of transformation.

The Journey Through Cancer: The Seven Levels of Healing,
by Jeremy Geffen, MD, FACP
The Seven Levels of Healing program is a whole new approach to helping patients and loved ones navigate the journey through cancer. The author addresses issues such as how to educate yourself about cancer, how to gain psychosocial support, and ways to strengthen your body. In addition, he deals with issues involving emotional healing, life assessment, and the nature of spirit. This book is a map and guide for working through all the dimensions of the cancer journey beginning with the initial diagnosis and the panic and confusion that often accompany that stage. The book offers ideas to help you organize your thinking, clarify your priorities, and get a handle on your options and next steps. The author states that as a medical oncologist he has learned a great deal from many heroic people who have taught him about living courageously in face of enormous challenges and the unknown.

Picking up the Pieces
by Sherri Magee & Kathy Scalzo
When cancer treatment is over, friends and family often think things will quickly be back to “normal” But as any survivors can tell you, things may never be “normal” again. Having cancer changes how they think, act and live and very often they must find a new “normal”.
Magee and Scalzo, provide essential directions for navigating the course between the old and the new normal, and for living well after cancer. These women have developed a “practical recovery process” to guide cancer survivors through this difficult time. The book takes readers through a four phase process of recovery, including inquiry, discovery, growth and reflection. The book presents each phase with useful daily practices to support you along your recovery journal. They provide informational and educational resources and professional support services and they suggest ways that you may find healing through your own contribution and creativity.

Report to the Nation on Prostate Cancer: A Guide for Men and their Families
Designed to help you and your fellow prostate cancer survivors through this process, by teaching you what you need to know about the disease and the different treatments. The four authors of this guide – one urologist, one medical oncologist, one radiation oncologist and one oncology nurse - highlight what to consider at each step of the way, based on their collective experience treating and educating men with prostate cancer. This book is available FREE via the web at prostatecancerfoundation.org or by calling 1-200-757-CURE(2873)

Where The Buffaloes Roam
by Bob Stone and Jenny Stone Humphries
This is the story of a team, a team that outgrew its original franchise, a team that wouldn't quit, a team that wouldn't die. A team that said No to terminal cancer, No to the narrowing of life's options, and went on to cary the man who brought them together to a quantum victory over cancer.