Amazon.com: Saving Jack: A Man's Struggle with Breast Cancer (9780806138954): Jack Willis, Alan B. Hollingsworth M.D.: Books

Buy New

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime Free Trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn More
Buy Used
Used - Good See details
$3.49 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Saving Jack: A Man's Struggle with Breast Cancer
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Saving Jack: A Man's Struggle with Breast Cancer [Paperback]

Jack Willis (Author), Alan B. Hollingsworth M.D. (Foreword)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

Price: $19.95 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Only 3 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).
Want it delivered Friday, February 24? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Book Description

May 1, 2008

A moving account of breast cancer from a surprising perspective

It isn’t just a woman’s disease: few men stop to consider it, but one in a thousand males contracts breast cancer.

Saving Jack is a moving first-person account of a man’s experience with breast cancer. In a tale of challenge and adversity, Jack Willis relates his personal experience, from first feeling a pea-sized nodule in his breast to being diagnosed, from mastectomy and chemotherapy treatments to positive prognosis. And in telling candidly of his struggles, he conveys his renewed appreciation of life.

While there is no shortage of books devoted to helping women with breast cancer, this is the first to address the apprehensions faced by men who contract the disease. As he describes the physical and emotional roller coaster on which he suddenly found himself, Willis shares with readers—especially other new cancer victims—some of the things he and his family didn’t know about cancer when he was diagnosed.

In a compelling story of faith, fear, and sometimes just getting through one long day of chemo, Willis shows that cancer is a family disease, affecting spouses and children as well as victims. For anyone whose family has been devastated by this frightening diagnosis, Saving Jack offers a ray of hope—and for men who face this unexpected disease, it offers a much needed source of strength.



Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A former journalist and college professor, Willis delivers a moving memoir of his struggle with breast cancer, shining a light on a diagnosis that is given to approximately 2,000 men each year. Once diagnosed, he doesn't shy away from accepting that he needs an immediate mastectomy and painful chemotherapy treatment. His journalistic training allows Willis to clearly and concisely tell his story—from the initial discovery of a lump on his chest through to surgery and treatment and on to the mental changes that he still feels today as a result of the chemotherapy: The nightmarish aftereffects shocked my system like nothing I had ever experienced. Willis chronicles his physical deterioration in excruciating detail, but he also offers a unique perspective, while never forgetting that women have struggled with the physical and mental impact of the disease for years. His writing skill also keeps him from overplaying his story's importance: he lets Hollingsworth—the founding medical director of the University of Oklahoma Breast Institute—state in his foreword that until now, no male breast cancer patient has tackled the shock of being diagnosed with 'a woman's disease' through a book-length chronicle of the experience. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

English physician John of Arderne first described breast cancer in a man as long as 700 years ago, and one in a thousand men develop breast cancer today, yet this is the first first-person, candid account of a man’s fears and struggle with “a woman’s disease.” University of Oklahoma journalism professor Willis was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma in February 2005, when a tiny nodule previously noticed, then dismissed by a physician, suddenly mushroomed to be “as much as five times larger” than when first detected. Willis vividly, painfully, and sometimes beautifully renders the steps of the journey that followed: mastectomy, the onslaught of chemotherapy and learning to live with it, radiation therapy, the things that helped along the way, the long-term effects, and living thankfully after cancer. In the end, this is about support systems and accepting help with grace and gratitude. A moving account that fills an essential niche in the annals of breast cancer. --Whitney Scott

Product Details

  • Paperback: 208 pages
  • Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (May 1, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0806138955
  • ISBN-13: 978-0806138954
  • Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,365,544 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

 

Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
5 star:
 (5)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring, Moving and ultimately charming, March 30, 2008
By 
J. Dial (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Saving Jack: A Man's Struggle with Breast Cancer (Paperback)
Jack Willis was my instructor and adviser for five years in Oklahoma and I was there through his ordeal with cancer. This book is the perfect mix of journalistic reporting, along with the charm of a memoir. Mr. Willis is sweet, sad, yet funny throughout the chronicles of his battle with cancer. Throughout his turmoil, he managed to produce several top notch journalists, and reading this book reminded me why he was the amazing teacher and friend that he is. I started the book one night and finished the entire thing- you simply can't put it down. Every page is heartfelt and the writing and editing is as strong as I've seen in any book.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Saving Jack: A Man's Struggle With Breast Cancer, September 13, 2009
This review is from: Saving Jack: A Man's Struggle with Breast Cancer (Paperback)
My husband was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in March of this year. Saving Jack was the only book I could find on men having this disease. The book is very informative. It was comforting to read what would happen to my husband. My husband experienced almost everything Jack did. Thank you for having this book available for cancer patients.


Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A True Comfort, June 3, 2008
By 
CSD (Edmond, OK USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Saving Jack: A Man's Struggle with Breast Cancer (Paperback)
Saving Jack is THE book to read if you or a loved one has cancer. Although it covers the author's personal experience with one type of cancer, breast cancer in a male of all things, the lessons learned are invaluable. It is a personal, first person account by a brilliant, funny and often poignant man who takes you on the roller coaster of the cancer patient's inner world. This is an excellent read for those who treat cancer patients and their families. This book is engaging from beginning to end, and I too, read it straight through! It is the best book of this area for demystifying some very scary issues on a personal level. If life hands you lemons, this is the gourmet recipe for lemonade. This book had an unexpected effect on this reviewer on the most visceral level. It was comforting. Never saw that coming.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews




Only search this product's reviews



Inside This Book (learn more)
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

So You'd Like to...


Create a guide


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject