Cancer Etiquette: What to Say, What to Do When Someone You Know or Love Has Cancer

by Rosanne Kalick

At last, the definitive guide on how to respond when someone says, "I have cancer." Two-time cancer survivor Rosanne Kalick helps readers communicate caringly with the cancer patient. Many have had the gut-wrenching experience of having a friend or loved one reveal they have cancer, yet few can figure out how to react. Using real stories, Kalick conveys how much most people really want to say and do the right thing – and how they often fail. Even those in the medical profession who work with cancer are guilty of etiquette "don’ts." The book is intended for patients, caregivers, family members, and friends. ". . . Patients and others will find a great deal of value here. The lay-out is unadorned; there are subsection headings, but readers will have to read through t to find the nuggets. This book is long overdue. Recommended for all libraries." - Bette Lee Fox, Library Journal

Genres: Health, Nonfiction

146 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2005

Reviews

[Carolyn Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invaluable for anybody who comes into contact with someone diagnosed with cancer or some other serious disease. Written by a cancer survivor, it is full of examples of what not to say, many stories and anecdotes, and useful suggestions for what you could REALLY do to help.

[Ruth E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know what it was, but it took forever to get through this book. I didn't mind it when I was reading it (that's why I finished it), but I had little desire to go back to it. It had a lot of quick little snippets about people who had cancer or were dealing with people who had cancer. I think it might have been better if the snippets had been a bit longer, and there were not quite so many of them. It wasn't a bad book; it just never fully drew me in.

[sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Should be required reading for medical staff who deal with cancer patients or those being tested for cancer.