My Cancer Year: A Survivorship Memoir

by Curtis Pesmen

Overview

In MY CANCER YEAR, Curtis Pesmen, a veteran health journalist and book author, chronicles his successful fight with advanced colon cancer in a brutally honest and illuminating memoir. Through this moving account—which takes the reader through his initial shock of diagnosis, through treatment, experimental surgery and finally recovery—Pesmen's insights and experiences cast light on how to manage the challenges of cancer people don't like to talk about. This intimate memoir of a successful fight helps the fast-growing group of survivors—as well as family and friends—put cancer in its place while moving forward with the power of new knowledge.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780981932170
Publisher:	Tatra Press
Publication date:	11/19/2013
Edition description:	First Edition, First edition
Pages:	180
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 10.50(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Curtis Pesmen is author several books including How a Man Ages, What She Wants, and Your First Year of Marriage. He has written for Esquire, GQ, SELF, Outside and Glamour magazines, and was the founding editor of LIVESTRONG Quarterly. As health/features editor of SELF magazine, he helped develop the internationally recognized, pink-ribbon breast cancer awareness campaign. He is an active in cancer patient advocacy.

Table of Contents

foreword ix

introduction, if i knew then xi

prologue, hollywood nights, survivor days xiv

1 my cancer story 1

2 putting cancer in its place 60

3 friends and family: the other survivors 75

4 intimate matters: bedroom, bathroom, beyond 88

5 my cancer story (+3 years): the sequel 104

6 my cancer story +10 years 116

7 backstory 124

8 step-by-step 130

9 oprah, paula, lance…and me 135

appendix, letters to the author 140

Editorial Reviews

The candidness and originality of Curtis Pesmen's writing serve as guides along the cancer journey with insights that are both practical and moving. — Melissa Weber, managing editor, CURE magazine

Pesmen (The Colon Cancer Survivor's Guide) has written an honest and sometimes explicit memoir about his diagnosis with and treatment for colon cancer. The first chapter is an edited and amended version of his blog entries at the time of his diagnosis and the care that followed. The entries are often chaotic but convey the raw feelings and turmoil of his story. Occasional notes or diary excerpts from family and friends are interspersed among the entries, offering a chance to see how others reacted. The remaining chapters focus on the author's recovery, again bringing in passages from his wife's diary and letters from friends and family. Pesmen has survived for more than ten years beyond his diagnosis and is now the father of two adopted children. His reactions to cancer and survivorship will enlighten anyone facing the same crisis, those close to them, and survivors. VERDICT The honesty of this book will resonate with cancer patients, and caregivers and health professionals will find it a realistic read if they wish to know more about what it feels like to have cancer. — Library Journal 9/15/2013

From the Publisher