The Human Side of Cancer: Living with Hope, Coping with Uncertainty

by Jimmie Holland, Sheldon Lewis

For more than twenty years, Dr. Holland has pioneered the study of psychological problems of cancer patients and their families -- whom she calls "the real experts." In The Human Side of Cancer, she shares what she has learned from all of them about facing this life-threatening illness and what truly helps along the cancer journey. This book is the next best thing to sitting in Dr. Holland's office and talking with her about the uncertainty and anxiety elicited by this disease. And it is a book that inspires hope -- through stories of the simple courage of ordinary people confronting cancer.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology

368 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2001

Reviews

[Caden Mccann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book. While acknowledging the gravity of a cancer diagnosis, Holland also gives cancer patients and their families realistic things to be positive about. Cancer research has come a long way since the 1950s, with the disease increasingly being lifted from the shadows and people with cancer living longer due to advances in medicine. At the same time, Holland does not skirt the reality that cancer remains deadly, and provides families with ways to derive meaning from the process of caregiving and potentially losing a loved one. Jimmie Holland was a tremendously good person and I would recommend her as a guide to anyone whose life has been touched by a cancer diagnosis.

[Nathan Dalrymple · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quotes
“I help them focus on the bigger picture, which so many times reveals how remarkably strong and courageous they have been in the face of one of life's gravest challenges: the threat to life itself.” - 2 - in reference to the personal challenges when dealing with cancer
“They have measured everything but my thoughts and mind. Somehow, my mental attitude, the stress, the anguish should be analyzed and studied the same as my physical condition.” - 7
“Ostrich syndrome - wanting to put your head in the sand, thinking that the problem will just go away” - 40
“Cure may not be possible with today's knowledge, but effective control of the tumor, often for years, has changed the outlook. The human side becomes the challenge of how to live well with a chronic medical condition, how to continue to undergo treatment while maintaining the activities that are important in life” - 249
“We all have to die sometime. I just happen to know a little more about how and when mine will be. It gives you time to plan and take care of things you want, to make sure you do certain things right and correct some things you would like to make different. ” - 75 year old retired welder with metastatic bladder cancer - 251
“We think because we are human we are something above nature. Now, here's the payoff. Here is how we are different from wonderful plants and animals. As long as we can love each other and remember the feeling of love we had, we can die without ever really going away. All the love you created is still there…. you love on in the hearts of everyone you have touched and nurtured while you were here… death ends a life, not a relationship” - 258

[Debbie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dr. Jimmie Holland was the founder of the field of psycho-oncology, a subspecialty in oncology. She married a leading oncologist who was involved in the early work (during the 70's) of treating cancer patients with combinations of chemotherapy drugs at once. During this time this psychiatrist by training was a stay at home mother to five children but keenly interested in her husband's work, often entertaining his colleagues for dinner and engaging them in conversation. As their children got older she returned to work at Memorial Sloan Kettering and began the first full-time psychiatric service at a cancer research hospital.

This is an older book published in 2000 but when I looked at the chapter titles I felt the information could be timeless. Her goal was to explore what cancer does psychologically to people and their families and how emotions and behaviors may influence the risk of getting cancer and its outcome. Unfortunately, I didn’t find anything particularly insightful or uniquely helpful.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book for anyone coping with cancer.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read another cancer related book like this- very compassionate and informative.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

MUST READ. And re-read.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little outdated, but informative none the less.

[Stacy Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read for anyone experiencing cancer with limited medical or mental health background.

[Melanie Stante · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique text and informative, especially with the long term survivorship and new treatments now