What Helped Me Get Through: Cancer Survivors Share Wisdom and Hope (Paperback)

by Julie K. Silver (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In her mid 30s, Silver (Super Healing), an oncology rehab specialist, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Drawing on her experiences, Silver questioned survey participants on critical aspects of care and healing (healthcare providers, friends, family, spirituality, body image, etc.). Mainly from the U.S., respondents include celebrities (Carly Simon, Lance Armstrong and Sen. Ed. Brooke among them) and represent a broad range of ages, backgrounds and varieties of cancer. Silver has slotted responses into sections addressing such concerns as balancing work and family, making healthy lifestyle changes, helping children to cope with a parent's illness, asking for help and relieving stress, and she offers advice in lists and sidebars. While narrative connections between participants' comments would have provided greater continuity, this volume-a bird's-eye-view into the minds and hearts of cancer survivors-is an invaluable resource for those who will have cancer or treat, live or work with a cancer patient.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Description

Helping Hands, Helping Hearts

“You're one in a million." For millions of cancer survivors, this is a singular declaration of appreciation-often borne of personal stories shared with others who are going through cancer. Here in one volume are hundreds of invaluable suggestions, words of support, encouragement, and hope, generously shared by survivors, medical experts, and celebrities from around the world. These are the things the docs don't have time to tell us. Pass it on.

"So much wisdom, strength, and courage can be gained from listening to others who have been there. This book provides much-needed inspiration for people with cancer, or any illness for that matter, and all those who love and care for them."

Ann H. Partridge, MD, MPH Director, Program for Young Women with Breast Cancer, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

“When one is truly inspired and wants to be a survivor, information derived from the experience of others is vital. The natives know how to help one another because of their experience. Read and learn from the wisdom of others and save yourself from having to learn the hard way.”

Bernie Siegel, MD author Love, Medicine & Miracles and Help Me To Heal

“I am always amazed by the incredible resilience of many people who are diagnosed with cancer. It is truly a privilege to share their journey and provide guidance when I can. There are other times when I am discouraged by the unfairness of the disease, and especially the side effects of our treatments. These often wreak havoc with life plans-the absence of children, the inability to work and achieve other life goals-and the specter of recurrent cancer. We are working hard to prevent cancer and to reduce the burden and toxicity of treatments so that survivors in the future may have an easier time.”

Patricia A. Ganz, MD Professor, UCLA Schools of Medicine and Public Health Division of Cancer Prevention and Control Research Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center 650 Charles Young Dr. South, Room A2-125 CHS Los Angeles, CA 90095-6900

My husband put it best: "A cancer diagnosis is like getting dropped off in a foreign country where you don't know the language." This book gives patients a guidebook to help them navigate the difficult world of cancer treatment written by those who have already made the journey. Treatment is tough, but it's so much more manageable when you know what to expect. I credit so many survivors with giving me the information I needed to get through treatment. This book puts all the stuff you need to know in one place. It's a must-have for anyone looking to make their cancer journey easier.

Kelley Tuthill Reporter WCVB-TV Boston Breast Cancer Survivor

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: American Cancer Society; 1 edition (October 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1604430044
• ISBN-13: 978-1604430042
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #89,978 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What Helped Get Me Through My Cancer, October 30, 2008

By	Kelly J. Jadon "Founder: www.BasilAndSpice.com" (Florida) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

From: www.BasilAndSpice.com
Author & Book Views On A Healthy Life!

A FirstLook Feature

Book Review: What Helped Get Me Through (American Cancer Society, 2008) by Julie K. Silver, M.D.

Edited by the award winning author, Julie K. Silver, herself a breast cancer survivor, the objective of What Helped Get Me Through is to provide stories, memories, and personal histories in the form of wisdom and hope by cancer survivors to others living with cancer. Dr. Silver surveyed hundreds of cancer survivors from around the world and interviewed medical experts and cancer leaders during her research for What Helped Me Get Through.

What Helped Get Me Through offers guidance, emotional support, and advice to those just diagnosed with cancer and those undergoing treatment. Cancer survivors have been in the same situation, and speak their own words about survival, pointing out the small details to the major discussions of the emotional, physical, and spiritual aspects of having the disease.

What Helped Me Get Through from cover to cover:

* How to manage fear, uncertainty, and speak with your young children. (Dr. Silver had to do this herself.)
* How to explore and decide upon treatment options.
* How to take care of yourself, spiritually, physically, and emotionally.
* How to interact with your family and friends, allowing them to make a difference.
* What would have helped, but was too difficult to ask for.
* What could have helped at the time of diagnosis.

Dr. Silver also has included short lists which are invaluable:

* 5 Things You Should tell Your Partner Who Has Cancer
* 5 Things To Tell Your Children About Your Cancer
* 5 Things For a Friend To Do
* 5 Things Your Oncologist Should Tell You
* 10 Tips to Help Children and Families

A personal sample: "I was my own worst enemy, and I found myself living on the computer, looking for the worst news possible. I cured that by going to work...it really helped the depression and getting back into a normal life.--Kathie, nurse and social worker, diagnosed with kidney cancer at age 53 in 2005 in Kingston, New York."

There are many survivors who participated in What Helped Get Me Through, including famous names, that are out on the front lines supporting cancer research today. You'll recognize Lance Armstrong, Carly Simon, Scott Hamilton, Sharon Osbourne, Susan Vreeland, Elyse Caplan, retired Senator Edward W. Brooke, Lynn Eib, Hester Hill Schnipper, among many many others. Cancer knows no limits of age, race, gender, nor economic position. We are all affected, as What Helped Get Me Through testifies to.

On a personal note, I walked into the emergency room to hear my own father's diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. We needed this book then. What Helped Me Get Through will encourage many families through diagnosis and treatment, offering hope. Sometimes those days are dark, but there is always hope.

BackStory Byte: Julie K. Silver, M.D. is celebrating her fifth year of breast cancer survivorship. She is also the author of more than a dozen books, including: After Cancer Treatment: Heal Faster, Better, Stronger (Johns Hopkins Press), chosen by Library Journal as a top twenty health book (2006) Life After Stroke (Johns Hopkins Press),and Super Healing (Rodale). Dr. Silver has received the American Cancer Society's prestigious Lane Adams Quality of Life award (2006) because she of her dedication to cancer care survivorship. Dr. Silver is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and a practicing physiatrist in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and on the medical staff at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Silver also holds the title of Chief Editor of Books at Harvard Health Publications.

The American Cancer Society helps people facing cancer get through their treatment and recovery by providing a range of free and confidential programs and services for patients and caregivers, which help people learn about their disease and treatment options, receive everyday help for dealing with cancer challenges, and connect with others for emotional support.

5 Stars

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Been there, done that!, December 15, 2008

By	DJG better half "DJG better half" (USA) - See all my reviews

I have had close relatives with cancer and I am a cancer survivor. I wish I had this book when my father and SIL had cancer because I didn't know exactly how to help. This is the perfect book for friends and family members who want to help but don't know how. I am one of the patients often quoted in the book so I know these comments come from the heart of the survivors who wrote them. I appreciate seeing my experience from the reader's vantage point. I also enjoyed hearing about what got other people through. None of us could have done it alone. I wish there was such a book for kids and teenagers with cancer. There needs are different and I find myself wondering how to help them uniquely because I am a school nurse. I currently have a student undergoing chemo for testicular cancer. We can relate in general but he needs kids his own age to be there and to talk to. Excellent resource. I recommend it for every place of worship, library, doctor's office and as a personal resource if you love someone with cancer.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A collection of wit and wisdom from those who have defeated one of life's greatest challenge, January 12, 2009

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Cancer is nothing one can get through without learning a valuable life lesson. "What Helped Get Me Through: Cancer Survivors Share Wisdom and Hope" is a collection of wit and wisdom from those who have defeated one of life's greatest challenges in cancer. With advice ranging from the most devastating diagnosis, to the long, grueling fight one must face, to final recovery and much more, "What Helped Get Me Through" is an absolute must for anyone facing this monster or have relatives who have to fight the fight.