I myself am a cancer survivor, having battled lymphoma for several years. I came across this book late in my experience, a few years after I reached a long term remission. The book is filled with interviews of young adults who tell their private stories in their battles with cancer. I found their experiences to be interesting, and very close to my heart since I too, had experienced many of their struggles such as with work, dating and living with my parents.
There were a couple of thoughts that settled in my mind after I finished reading this. First off, this book is referenced as "the insider's guide to cancer in your 20s and 30s." It is clearly not a guide. A guide is a handbook, a tool to help you navigate the unexpected or unfamiliar. My question is how many newly diagnosed cancer patients in their 20s and 30s buy a book like this once they hear of their shocking diagnosis. I certainly didn't. The first thought was "what the ^%$$^*(&##" and not, "i guess I'll look up a book on how to navigate the waters of cancer in my 20s." There is so much more than that when you're diagnosed. Which brings me to my next point.
By the time a patient ends up reading this book, he or she have most likely gone thru so much to know what has worked for them and what hasn't. The book, although a good read from the interviews stand point, fails to deliver what new patients needs at a timely manner, not because of the book's fault but because patient's instincts especially young ones are not to resort to a book when they're immediately diagnosed. Sometimes the treatment happens so quickly after diagnosis that you don't have time to read anything. You're relying many times on the hospital and staff to help you thru. A guide remains relevant if the info is delivered to the patient at the right time. The info here is not delivered in the right medium. It is better suited for the web or a podcast. When I read it, I skipped through all the pages that were the "guide" part because I didn't find it relevant or helpful. There was nothing in there that I didn't know already 4-8 months into my cancer experience.
Secondly, I was hoping the author would be the one telling patients and families what to do and how to do it thru her personal experiences (it's her guide right?) yet she simply details a dry laundry list of names and contacts of other places to connect with if you need more help. So, I bought a guide to then connect and seek more guidance? Isn't this a bit like buying a restuarant guide to tell me which web sites or organizations to contact to figure out the best French or Chinese restaurant in town? I was hoping the author would use in a creative way how she dealt with the issues by contacting place A or place B, but be it part of the narrative, not some plain list. She writes well yet the guide part was a bit disconnected and not as interesting of a read. I could have received similar contacts and names by calling local cancer organizations, charities or my social worker at the hospital.
As far as this book helping to guide those in a supporting role like friends and family, it could serve them well to know what 20s and 30s with cancer go thru. I think most people don't have a clue what the author and the interviewees really went thru with cancer so it's great to have a book about it.
I liked the quotes sprinkled around the pages, and the stories around the interviews such as how the author set them up and got to meet the patients. I really hoped though for more thorough descriptions of the author's experiences. She went through a lot and I was hoping to hear more of her issues with work, dating, sex, treatments, etc. If this book is by a cancer patient, then the author immediately brings credibility, yet there wasn't all that much about her. It would have been cool if she chose one patient to interview her.
