Customer Reviews

Live Strong: Inspirational Stories from Cancer Survivors-from Diagnosis to Treatment and Beyond

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Live Strong: Inspirational Stories from Cancer Survivors - From Diagnosis to Treatment and Beyond by the Lance Armstrong Foundation is a powerful new book that is a must read for anyone - whether they have been impacted by cancer or not.

The book is a collection of stories told by twenty-six people on a terrifying roller coaster that is out of control ... they have been diagnosed with serious life-changing cancer. But they all have hope and they all develop the inner strength to continue their lives with the drastic changes that cancer forces upon them.

The people are unforgettable ...

- the college senior who found out in her last semester ... just when she was ready to start a wonderful and exciting life journey - now bravely struggling with feelings of isolation while working to raise money for other cancer survivors.

- the cancer doctor who got cancer himself, played with his kids, wound up with a divorce, and eventually returned to work with a new understanding of what his patients are experiencing.

- the twenty-four year old woman whose basketball career ended when she was diagnosed in eighth grade.

- the teenage boy who struggled through a cancer-filled `coming of age' period unlike any other but who has now found some peace and even has a girlfriend.

- the Asian woman who became distraught because she knew something was wrong inside - and who eventually had to force her doctors to figure out that she had cancer.

- the father of four who became a cancer survivor when his five year old son was diagnosed then became blind and now is learning Braille.

- the forty-five year old woman who calmly, almost light-heartedly wonders if she will expire before her credit card does.

The stories are remarkable, told simply in the words of real people, not professional authors. The book is certainly a monument to hope and optimism and living strong.

But there is something deeper about this book, both more disturbing and more profound, that I can not quite put my finger on. Perhaps it is because I am reading Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking, an extraordinary journey with her during her year-long reaction to her husband's sudden death. It is becoming clearer to me that the survivors in Live Strong are really describing the heart-wrenching emotional grieving process that they struggled through. Someone has died and it is them - the other life, without cancer, that they will never have. And there is such difficulty in letting go.

Read this book. It is much deeper than inspiration. By David Roddy, Cancer Survivor and Author of North Pond Dawn.

I was drawn to the book when I saw the familiar yellow LIVE STRONG wristband. Upon reading, I was relieved to realize that this book is one full of hope, not despair, sadness and pain. These are the stories of real people who have had or do have real cancer. The book is invaluable because it comes from those people who know what having cancer feels like. These aren't the words of doctors or nurses or other health care professionals. These are the words from people who know.

I am a cancer survivor, and though my cancer pales in comparison to some of this stories I am encourages to live strong by these people and their stories. The one common factor to all of the stories if that having had and survived cancer has taught each person to love life differently, and for most that means life life fully and strong. I like that message and now that I am healthy and distanced from my cancer experience (a Desmoid sarcoma tumor of my abdominal muscle wall)I am happy to be reminded to stay centered in those lessons and to live my life to the fullest and strongly.

This is one of the most uplifting books I have come across in a long time. Cancer survivors tell their own unvarnished stories. They tell of the trials and tribulations that come along with a cancer diagnosis. I was very surprised by how many people said that their cancer diagnosis transformed their lives in a good way by making them live each day to its fullest. Another recurring topic was when to tell someone you are dating that you have had a cancer diagnosis. The people profiled had a wide variety of cancers, many I never had heard of. This is an excellent book to offer hope and an education. I heartily recommend this book.

It is very important for survivors to hear the stories of others who have been down the same road. This book is like going to a really good support group, plus it benefits a great organization.

Being a recent cancer victim/survivor myself, I found this to be inspiring and is helping to reaffirm that I'm not alone out there and that there's nothing wrong with me. It just happened, for whatever reason. Livestrong is a must read for anyone who either has or knows someone who has cancer ... it'll help you get through the bumps along the road.