Surviving After Cancer: Living the New Normal
Dr Katz has done it again! Congratulations to a job well done. Dr Katz is a health care professional who REALLY cares about cancer, its impact on patients and their loved ones. Her book demonstrates an empathetic dedication to professionalism and provides a comprehensive guide for both the detail oriented health care professional and survivor. It is an excellent resource that succeeds to assist with the complexities of cancer care navigation. Her book is an asset for the oncological and survivorship community. (Michael L. Krychman, M.D., CM, Executive Director of Southern CA Center for Sexual Health and Survivorship Medicine; AASECT certified Sexual Counselor)In this book, with beautiful and detailed stories, Anne Katz deals with the major topics of surviving cancer. She is a superb observer of the various emotions that happen in patients and partners confronted with cancer and confronted with the medical professionals. She clearly explains the how and why of the various side effects of this process and her stories lay down the path towards solutions. Anne Katz is one of the very few professionals able to combine in her writing a loving picture of human people with well balanced inside information on disease and treatment. (Woet Gianotten, M.D., Psychotherapist and co-founder of ISSC (International Society for Sexuality and Cancer))Anne Katz has written a smart, engaging, user-friendly guide for cancer survivors and those who love them. What shines through this book is not the cancer, but human beings-real people, to whom Dr. Katz transmits generous doses of information, help, and hope. (Gina Ogden, Ph.D., author of Women Who Love Sex, The Heart and Soul of Sex, and The Return of Desire)As stated in the first chapter of this accessible primer by registered nurse Katz (Univ. of Manitoba, Winnipeg; Sex When You're Sick: Reclaiming Sexual Health After Illness or Injury), cancer changes everything....Katz presents nine personal stories relating the challenges of a cancer life: fear of recurrence, post-treatment depression, returning to the workplace, fatigue, sex and relationships, a healthy diet/lifestyle, doctor appointments and follow-up, childbearing, and cognitive difficulties. The narratives are interrupted by statements/factoids intended to clarify or further develop the basic concept. The penultimate chapter is a digest of the cancer odysseys, summing up the information into what the author calls "A Blueprint for Health." The book concludes with a resources section....The disease continues to affect hundreds of thousands of individuals and families annually. If cancer memoirs circulate well in your library and budgets allow, consider adding this to the health shelf. (Library Journal)In this uplifting book, registered nurse Katz gives hope to the more-than-10-million cancer survivors in the U.S. Each of nine chapters focuses on a patient with a different kind of cancer (bladder, uterine, breast), each of whom faces different issues, such as depression, embarrassment, and exhaustion, and, ultimately, fares well. A woman with breast cancer initially doesn’t like the look of her implants. A man with colon cancer can’t seem to talk with his wife over his feelings about his ostomy bag. A construction worker with prostate cancer feels uneasy talking to his boss about how he will need accommodations since he needs to go to the bathroom frequently and can’t do heavy lifting for a while. Sexuality counselor as well as nurse, Katz gives helpful and explicit information about stress reduction, sensual massage, and lubricants....Cancer survivors and their friends and families will get a psychological boost from her book. (Booklist)Anne Katz provides ample evidence that cancer changes everything. She identifies several major hurdles that often linger long after therapy ends. Each one is presented through the eyes of a survivor who overcame it and is now “living the new normal.” A cancer survivor reading this book may not have personally experienced all nine hurdles, but he or she will certainly identify with several....Surviving After Cancer: Living the New Normalis a very well organized book. It is written to help survivors and their families, and it does an able job at that. All advice provided is backed by solid research. And the patient stories make it easy for survivors to identify with many others who are also living the new normal. This book is a good resource for cancer patients at all stages of their illnesses. A newly diagnosed patient can read it and anticipate what may happen after therapy. A survivor recently discharged from care can read the sections that coincide with the hurdles they are encountering, and family members can do likewise. Using the excellent information and resources that Anne Katz has assembled here should make the cancer journey a smoother one with fewer detours. It may also improve understanding among family members who live with the survivor. (New York Journal of Books)Anne Katz draws from her experience as an author and a nurse to shine a light on the lives of patients and their families once cancer treatment has been completed. This illumination reaches the corners of fear of recurrence, return to work, fatigue, sexuality and fertility issues, diet and exercise, survivorship care plans, and the cognitive and emotional difficulties that may or may not resolve....Surviving After Canceroffers insight and compassion for the 10 million current cancer survivors....For those who like to hold and read a book for information, whether survivor or healthcare provider, this text is current and helpful.(Oncology Nursing Forum2011-09-01)