The Dust Busting Chronicles: Cleaning My Way Through Ovarian Cancer [Paperback]

Cheryl Cushine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 5, 2007

The Dust Busting Chronicles: Cleaning My Way Through Ovarian Cancer details the horrific and life-altering battle against ovarian cancer during a harrowing 19-month period. The story relays the logistical challenges of a life-threatening disease, and explores poignant moments of hope, anger, frustration and defeat.The story begins with the author packing up her life in New Jersey, after the loss of her life partner, Lyse. The ensuing chapters disclose the cancer experience in compelling detail. Chemotherapy treatments begin, and the couple adjusts to a regimen of infusions, disabling side effects, and a mountain of pills. Cheryl's obsessive-compulsive disorder grows in scope as Lyse's medical challenges put a strangle hold on all areas of their life. The story gives the reader an intimate view of the dark side of the author's coping mechanism and the stress that accompanies her rituals. The first chemotherapy regimen results in a good report, but several months later, the couple receives discouraging news. Two more chemotherapy protocols follow and both yield disastrous results. The final three weeks of Lyse's life, spent at Holy Name Hospital, were dramatic, tender, and passionate. The concluding chapter is a matter-of-fact but moving account of accepting things, even death, as they are, loving so deeply it's painful, and coming through on the other side. Those of us left on this side will move forward, alone, but having loved in such a way that that is all we truly remember in the end. Fifty percent of the profits from the sale of "The Dust Busting Chronicles: Cleaning My Way Through Ovarian Cancer" will be donated to: The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, Inc.14 Pennsylvania PlazaSuite 1400New York, NY 10122Phone: [phone]www.ocrf.org

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Winning first prize for Haiku in a college poetry contest, Cheryl graciously accepted her $100 and then folded the verses and tucked them into a box of books to be stored. She went on to pursue a career as a music therapist, working with geriatrics and mentally-challenged adults. She continued writing Haiku, and even some short essays, roused by the poignant moments found in stagnant hallways and brightly lit activity rooms of the nursing home. After migrating to the world of business, Cheryl enjoyed a career in project and client-support based services, spending the last seven years of her twenty-two year tenure in management. During her years in the corporate world, Cheryl quietly struggled with the demands and symptoms of her obsessive-compulsive disorder. Symptoms of worrying and cleaning, kept mostly under wraps, became oppressive and debilitating during the months of her partner's illness. This period of crisis transformed her OCD from a familiar coping mechanism into a venomous guerrilla. During the worst of her partner's illness, Cheryl sought treatment for her own affliction. This allowed her to continue providing Lyse with undivided love, devotion, and management of her medical needs. Almost three-and-a-half years later, Cheryl is living a quiet and contented life in Wilmington, North Carolina. Living through her partner's battle, and ultimately losing the love of her life, has reshaped her perception of life. At the end of the line, what matters most is how we've loved. Cheryl may be reached at [e-mail].

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (July 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1434312844
• ISBN-13: 978-1434312846
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,622,654 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dealing with all the challenges life throws...., August 21, 2007

By 

Adam Shrager "Yoshi's Dad" (NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dust Busting Chronicles: Cleaning My Way Through Ovarian Cancer (Hardcover)

This is not a book about ovarian cancer, although I learned a lot about the subject. It's the very real saga of an individual dealing with the loss of a partner while acknowledging her own very real demons. As I read Cushine's book -- I found that I wanted more...More about the OCD that she struggled with and that was exasperated by the ordeal her otherwise settled life was thrown into. More about her family life, and the difficult home she was raised in. More about her very special, very loving, special life relationship. What makes the book so successful and so moving is that the author is not looking for sympathy and is not seeking pity. She has written a love letter to her lost partner and she has given us the priviledge of sharing it with us. And, she left me wanting more...the mark of a truly successful piece of prose.

For anyone who might run the risk of losing a partner (gay or not, it doesn't matter at all in the context of this moving story), this book is a guide through one woman's journey. It's about how she dealt with her own OCD, with her partner's deteriorating condition, and with a myriad of decisions regarding health care choices as her partner spirals toward a certain death, all while keeping her own life together...a remarkable story, and a worthwhile read.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a poignant story of love and loss, August 19, 2007

By 

C. Starrels (Sarasota, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dust Busting Chronicles: Cleaning My Way Through Ovarian Cancer (Hardcover)

I found the book to be an uplifting story of love and sorrow, as life slips away. It tells of the struggle between the medical world and the man-in-the-street, and the frustration we experience in dealing with terminal illness. It is a well-researched and beautifully written account of a relationship everyone should be fortunate enough to have. I look forward to hearing more from Ms. Cushine in the future.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully-written testament to true love, August 8, 2007

By 

Lisa S. - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dust Busting Chronicles: Cleaning My Way Through Ovarian Cancer (Hardcover)

This heartbreaking story of loss had me in tears. I felt as if I were living the nightmare along with Cheryl, whose life-long struggle with OCD was aggravated during her partner's demise. The details of Lyse's illness can be tough to read, but it enables readers to learn the realities of ovarian cancer and the burdens placed on caregivers. While it's a sad story of loss on the one hand, it's an uplifting story of survival on the other: after Lyse's death, Cheryl packed up her life as she knew it and began a new one with newfound strength, courage, and hope. Her story will inspire us all.