Customer Reviews

Survivor: Taking Control of Your Fight against Cancer

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A feisty survivor story? Yes. A good read? Definitely. But the book is more than that. Landro offers her story as evidence of the importance of charting one's own destiny in a health crisis.

"The key to survival is taking control, learning everything you can about your treatment, making informed decisions and being prepared to fight for the right care, the right doctors and, in the end, for your own life," she writes. "Had I not done this, I might not be alive today."

The result is a well-written book that sets forth a guide for others facing the same frightening, bewildering options she faced.

The book is also a testament to Landro's commitment to helping others through supporting research. She donated her book advance and her portion of the proceeds from sales to cancer research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center where she was treated.

Reviewing this book gives me problems. My spouse is awaiting a bone marrow transplant for CML, the same disease that Landro had. And in many ways, this book was very good, empowering us by leading us to good websites, recommending the book Mira's Month for my small daughter , and letting us know what to expect as far as side effects, etc. What I think the book lacks is emotion/humanness--although there are times that Landro tells us how she feels, much more ofetn things are summed up by "just get through it." I also believe that Landro's experiences with her transplant may not be as relative to people like us, who have financial concerns, who have small children, who are not fortunate enough to have a perfect sibling match (we do, happily, have perfect unrelated donor matches--bless them!). I think that Landro's choice to not name her husband was unsettling--although she probably chose not to in order to respect his privacy, I feel it would have been better to state that at the outset--I was left with the impression that although he did accompany her through a very difficult time, he was not worthy of a name. Another very real problem I have with this book is its title--I believe that it is a marketing ploy, because I do not believe IN ANY WAY that this book is about "taking control of your fight against cancer"--it is about one woman's bone marrow transplant, and I knew that going in; had I bought this book thinking it would empower me to fight against cancer, I would be very disappointed, because although one or two chapters may deal with that, it certainly is not true of the whole book. I would whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone undergoing a BMT, but I would not recommend it to someone with prostate cancer or melanoma--it simply is not relevent to cancers that do not require a BMT. I am asking our friends to buy it, because it is very relevant to OUR type of cancer and our need for a BMT--but may not be to other people who are not in this particular boat.

Laura has done an excellent job of not only sharing an intensely personal cancer experience, but she has also gathered together multiple resources and self-advocacy behaviors under one bookcover to aide all individuals, families or friends confronted with the same. Her forthright honesty, ability to include even the little daily details of living/surviving, and her fantastic sense of humor blend together to give a sense of control and hope to all of us. Almost everyone today is touched in some way by cancer, whether it be ourselves, a family member or a friend. We can all learn from what Laura has shared. I commend her greatly for such an insightful and useful book.

The brilliance of Laura's book is in the use of her keen intellect to save her own life. The lessons she teaches us can be used by any patient in any disease to be the system...and beat the disease that threatens their life.

Ms. Landro's personal story is a must read for families dealing with the horrors of leukemia...It is an honest and educational account of the bone marrow process and the way the patient and care givers must respond when faced with devastating news...You will want to become a bone marrow donor after reading her personal account. At a minimum, your sensitivity of the fragility of health will be seriously heightened.

Laura Landro tells her story of survival from chronic myelogenous leukemia and bone marrow transplantation with the excitement and fullness of fine fiction.

As she enters " the netherworld of medicine", Laura's journalist's instincts kick in. Information proves crucial, for she must choose between two cancer centers with subtly differing treatment protocols and prepare for the certain loss of ovarian function to chemotherapy.

Attitude and humor help pass the darkest sickroom days. Imagine watching Laura, pallid from anemia and bloated from steroids, primp, preparing her face for the future. A reading of her mother's daily log defines determination and suggests, incidentally, that fine writing must be hereditary. Humor is good medicine: Her brothers' constant high spirits penetrate the wall of pain. Her colleagues from "The Wall Street Journal" perform a hilarious video skit that pulls her toward the future.

Support materializes from friends and "the ranks of afflicted want to reach out to you...and put you in touch with experts who helped them." At a near breaking point for Laura, Marilyn's unforgettable letter plums the depths and eloquence of friendship.

Healing goes beyond hospital walls.

If Survivor is a "survival guide" for patients, it is equally a primer for healthcare providers in the information age. Patients who arrive with Internet pages are today's survivors. Like Laura Landro, they plan to "come out on the other side". Doctors couldn't play on a better team.

We happened to meet Laura's brother and wife at a destination wedding last week. He shared with us their story at breakfast one morning, he had us on the edge of our chairs. I can't wait to read this book!

Landro has written a courageous book that brings you inside the medical establishment. You can't read this tale without sharing at least some of the horrible pain she herself endured in surviving a life-threatening illness. Her harrowing ordeal is described in vivid detail, especially the physical and emotional impact of all the drugs she had to consume to combat leukemia and the onset of a host of complications caused by the disease and the treatment for it. I often winced at her descriptions, which made me, a very healthy 40-something male, feel extremely fragile and vulnerable. This is a well-written, well-documented journey into a medical netherland and a personal nightmare. It's also a book I could not put down, even though I know no one who has been afflicted with this terrible disease.