Cancervive: The Challenge of Life After Cancer [Paperback]

Judith Ellis (Author), Susan Nessim (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

While advances in cancer therapy now account for an estimated 50% permanent remission rate, Nessim, founder of the support group Cancervive, charges that society still stigmatizes survivors of the disease. In an excellent handbook based on her own successful battle against cancer as a teenager, she addresses recovered cancer patients, their families, friends and health professionals. Assisted by freelance writer Ellis, she offers positive, empathetic advice on how to control fears of recurrence and long-term side effects--including infertility--as well as anger and depression. Nessim also makes suggestions for regaining sanguine self- and body-images essential for securing jobs, insurance and more. Cancervive members have their say, too, recounting how they handled anxiety about new relationships. With the help of a support group, the author maintains, the survivor can have a healthy, forward-looking life.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The nearly six million survivors of cancer in the United States often find that life after cancer can be fraught with difficulties. Nessim, who had cancer as a teenager, founded Cancervive in 1985 as a support group to help patients deal with the problems of survivorship. She writes that "surviving is an experience wrought with pain, joy, anger, and optimism . . . it challenges our ability to endure." Drawing on the personal testimonials and accounts of survivors, Nessim offers advice on what comes after the cure: physical, emotional, and psychosocial problems; employment discrimination; insurance difficulties; and biomedical issues related to treatment such as fertility. This book aims to help survivors live warily but without anxiety. Recommended for health care col lections.
- James Swanton, Albert Ein stein Coll. of Medicine, New York
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (May 29, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395624320
• ISBN-13: 978-0395624326
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,302,866 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Celebrate life!, April 2, 2000

By 

M. Chodaba (Highland, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cancervive: The Challenge of Life After Cancer (Paperback)

This book was a Godsend to me as I completed chemotherapy for breast cancer 4 years ago.This book touches on all the issues faced by cancer survivors on several levels - emotional, social, legal, etc. Only a cancer survivor knows what it is like to be a member of this special club of ours - a club whose members share the same renewed vision of life. The road to that renewed vision is not an easy one, and this book will help pave the way! I can't believe that it is out of print! My life has been enriched because of it. Thank you, Susan and Judith!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars republish this book!, November 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Cancervive: The Challenge of Life After Cancer (Paperback)

You thought getting your cancer cured took care of the matter? Dream on. There are a lot of issues in survivorhood. Your dates drop you, your insurance company drops you, your employer eases you out, your family doesn't want to hear about it anymore, and your adrenaline surges with every cough, twinge and hiccup that your now untrustworthy body produces. Here are some people who understand. Fellow survivors Nessim and Ellis walk you through every issue, offering sound advice and words of encouragement. Their chapter on the insurance obstacle is excellent. You might take a mind to joining one of the Cancervive chapters, if there is one in your area, or availing yourself of their over-the-phone counseling.

Will appeal to: survivors and their family and friends.