After Cancer: A Guide to Your New Life

by Wendy Schlessel Harpham

Having this book on my nightstand is like having an empathetic and wise friend at my side as I chart a new course after cancer treatment. Dr. Harpham blends practical information with the intimate understanding of a veteran. Her book serves as a companion and inspiration on my voyage. ―Ellen Hermanson, editor, Networker (National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship Newsletter) This is the first book written by a doctor for the layperson that addresses the medicine, the practical issues, and the psychosocial elements of recovery after cancer treatment. The author a cancer survivor herself, understands that surviving cancer is more than just killing cancer cells and getting through treatment. Patients must deal with the emotional, social, spiritual, and financial fallout of a cancer diagnosis. By helping survivors understand that they can’t go back to where they were before cancer, she liberates them to move forward to a different, “new normal.” Writing in a reader-friendly, question-and-answer format, Dr. Wendy Harpham addresses a wide range of issues realistically yet hopefully. Among them are understanding the medicine of reevaluation, follow-up, and prevention treatment; dealing with the most common physical aftereffects of treatment; learning how to make decisions about work and school; relating to friends and family; helping children deal with parent’s cancer; and coping with the practicalities of living wills and insurance. An important section on post cancer fatigue will be of special interest to patients who find that exhaustion is one of the most difficult problems with which they deal.

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Nina]

One of the best after treatment books I've read. Practical information. Addresses a wide range of emotional issues

[Lorri · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you are undergoing treatment for cancer you always think about how great life will be when you are done with treatment. Then when it happens you feel lost and alone. This book is helpful to cancer survivors as they try to put their lives back together. Life is never the same after cancer but it is still wonderful.