When Life Becomes Precious: The Essential Guide for Patients, Loved Ones, and Friends of Those Facing Serious Illnesses [Paperback]

Elise Babcock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1997

When you hear that someone you love has cancer...
You want to be as supportive as possible. But how?

Elise NeeDell Babcock has devoted her life to answering this question and now puts her twenty-three years of experience as a counselor into this immensely useful guide. When Life Becomes Precious contains hundreds of tips for helping patients, primary caregivers, co-workers, and family members, including:

What to say (and not to say) to someone when you first find out they have cancer
• How to be supportive without being intrusive
• How to build a winning health-care team
• How to handle holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries
• How to explain the disease to children
• Which gifts and gestures can do the most good

From techniques for handling anger and anxiety, to uplifting success stories, to a comprehensive resource section, here is the information and inspiration you need to help those you love and to make each day--each moment--more precious.

When Life Becomes Precious will be the first book to:
• Offer tips on ways to help patients, caregivers and co-workers
• Provide a long and diverse list of gifts that are appropriate to give to families that are living with cancer
• Offers reasons why fear makes people shy away from discussing cancer and techniques on how to overcome that fear
• Present the things that families do that doctors like and dislike

When Life Becomes Precious will teach readers to assess and put into perspective, their own feelings about the disease so that they can truly help those who are afflicted with it. The use of cartoons, anecdotes and personal stories will set an upbeat and positive tone. Readers will come away fully prepared to deal with the realities of cancer.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When someone you care about is diagnosed with cancer, what should you say? What should you not say? What are the best ways to offer help, or to help children understand what is happening? When Life Becomes Precious is an outstanding resource for answers to such uncomfortable questions. It includes specific tips for cultivating a support network, avoiding caregiver burnout, managing fear and anger (in both yourself and the cancer patient), finding the best doctors and other health care professionals to plan treatment, preparing for hospital visits, and, for the patient, dealing with cancer when at the workplace.

Written with tact and warmth, this book is filled with advice that's likely to escape your mind during this time of stress, from 14 questions to ask before surgery to the medical and legal documents to have handy at all times to 8 reasons for switching doctors. Babcock, who has 23 years of counseling experience, also offers guidance for what to do when the cancer patient refuses all medical care: "Someone who refuses treatment and understands the repercussions of his decision is not in denial," she says. "You will have to learn to respect and accept his choice, however, even though you disagree. No other stance will support him, even though you think it will."

Babcock also includes empathetic ways to discuss mortality, and tactics for making it through holidays and birthdays, along with contact information for more than 100 resources such as support organizations and networks, chronic pain centers, hospices, and newsletters and magazines. --Erica Jorgensen

Review

"When Life Becomes Precious is both practical and powerful; a sensitive, informative handbook and an inspiring guide to helping others who have cancer. I cannot recommend this book highly enough."
--Jack Canfield, co-author of Chicken Soup for the Surviving Soul

"An indispensable guide for the people most often forgotten when cancer strikes: the spouse, caregivers, and friends of the patient."
--Michael Korda, author of Man to Man: Surviving Prostate Cancer

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; 2nd Edition, Bantam Reissue 1997 edition (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553378694
• ISBN-13: 978-0553378696
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #511,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This should be for coping with any medical problem, September 7, 2001

By 

J Long (TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Life Becomes Precious: The Essential Guide for Patients, Loved Ones, and Friends of Those Facing Serious Illnesses (Paperback)

My spouse had heart disease. At the same time, I was looking for a book for a friend with cancer. I found Precious and read it before giving it as a gift. I realized the suggestions applied to my family. I started using the author's ideas immediately and it helped us tremendously. I find myself quoting her often in my volunteer work at church (with patients) and with friends. One friend called and said she was having serious problem coping with her husband's diabetes. She read the book and called to tell me that after following the advice in Precious, she saw a dramatic change in the way her family communicated and supported each other. Another friend said she was in an argument with her daughter about the father's illness. The mother used the suggestions in the book to calm her daughter down. Later that evening, the daughter (in her 30s) came up to her mom and said, "Thank you. What you said and how you said it was wonderful!" This book should not even have cancer on the cover. It's practical, moving, upbeat and extremely helpful for patients and families coping with any medical challenge. J. Long, past president of a personnel agency

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best emotional support book on the market!, February 23, 2000

By 

Wayne Springer (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Life Becomes Precious: The Essential Guide for Patients, Loved Ones, and Friends of Those Facing Serious Illnesses (Paperback)

This is absolutely the most incredible survivor and partner-support book I have ever read. Having had to deal with several close friends and relatives over the past couple of years who have been dealing with cancer problems, I just was at a loss as to the best way to handle everything. What to say, what to do, how were they REALLY feeling? Stuff like that. This book explains it all in a way that not only makes sense, but give you a sense of hope that you can actually help people deal with these health crises and major life transitions in meaningful, caring, and loving way. I have actually used the book way beyond just cancer support also. It was helpful with my own Mother, who passed away in November, in dealing with her heart and lung problems. It's just a great communications tool. Think of it almost like a Spanish-English dictionary: only this is a patient-supporter dictionary. The patient has things that they're thinking and feeling that THEY understand, but you don't. This book will translate all that for you. I have probably given 2 dozen of these books to my own friends who are dealing with these issues themselves either as patients or as patient-supporters. This book is a true gift to the world.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous resource, July 19, 2003

By 

Erin Esposito "esposito" (Rochester, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When Life Becomes Precious: The Essential Guide for Patients, Loved Ones, and Friends of Those Facing Serious Illnesses (Paperback)

This truly is a fabulous resource! The information is quite straightforward and covers a wide array of areas/issues that are certain to be impacted by the news of a loved one being ill. The components of the book cover areas such as understanding your feelings, how our fears play out in the ordeal, how to have conversations regarding the illness and ramifications of the illness, how to find resourceful medical care and how to balance one's role in life given the situation.

I would highly recommend this book for people who are going through the challenge of a loved one being ill, as it applies to not only cancer patients - but all who have serious health issues.