- Genre:biography & autobiography
- Sub-genre:Medical (incl. Patients)
- Language:English
- Pages:248
- Paperback ISBN:9798317843977
Book details
Overview
When Caroline received a cancer diagnosis, she did not know that she was about to enter a whole new world. The world of cancer, of being sick, the world of the hospital and its medical system. But most of all, she entered a field where she found out she was not the only one going through all of this. She experienced during her journey with destination 'unknown' that there were so many others who were directly or indirectly affected by cancer. It might happen to you one day. If it is not cancer, it can be another illness and you find yourself in the hospital and dealing with all kind of treatments. It asks something completely different of you, a whole new body-mind-set. Caroline went through it her way, the Alice in Wonderland way. Whilst she was relating to it all and sharing anecdotal experiences, people asked her if she was writing it down. She started to do so, whilst she was still full-on 'in the middle' of it. That is the thing with cancer, you have no idea where you are at. Caroline realised that she was in the middle of something that was bigger than her daily life and she had to find her way in it. This book offers some guidelines how to walk through the Land of Cancer, Hospital, Treatments and Medical Procedures. Most of all this book is an invitation to see what is at offer when you are the midst of such a situation. That there is resilience you never knew you had. That there are so many people around you, you would never ever have met in your life, and most of all that there are angels at your side – and sometimes you can be that angel for others. This book is mainly about people and the love there is between all of us, regardless the situation you are in or how it may look like.
Description
Rather than a ‘survival’ story, it is a celebration of life with all the ups and downs that come with it. It invites the reader to share in a lightness of being and joy of life that Caroline maintained as she progressed through her first diagnosis to the treatments needed to restore her physical health.
From the shock of the words, ‘You have a tumour’ to finding herself in emergency surgery (not once but several times), to the profound depth of joy she shared with medical staff and her fellow patients, there is an offering to explore life, death and all that occurs in between.
As Caroline was thrown unexpectedly into the medical system, she provides her keen observations of how the medical system can overwhelm a patient and provides anyone who becomes a ‘patient’ with rare insights into how you can interact with the medical system, take charge of your medical care and come out whole and complete.
This book offers all of us the understanding that healing does not always come as we expect and treatments may not always be successful, but the quality we hold ourselves in as we face these challenges is, in the end, what matters.
It is a book that shows us that people matter when you are facing a crisis in your health, whether it is the medical professional giving the diagnosis, the nurse providing care and information, or the support of fellow patients, friends and family. Caroline demonstrates how each relationship can be maximised by all.
It is a book for anyone impacted by the medical system (doctors, nurses, patients, friends and families of patients) and anyone who wonders at ‘why me’ when they receive a cancer diagnosis. In a way it changes the question to ‘why not me?’, as we see each time Caroline takes every challenge to explore what she can bring to each and every person she encounters.
Caroline offers the reader all the wisdom she collected along the way, from developing a deeper presence in all her movements and interactions, as well as her own realisations, to the stories of others who were navigating the complexities of their own medical care, and the difficulties experienced by their families and work colleagues to understand their diagnosis and their needs.
This is not a cancer ‘survival’ story but an intimate journey into the fullness that life has to offer. One that asks the reader to embrace that whatever challenges we encounter, there is the grace of joy and laughter that can be found in the most unexpected ways and places. It is beyond a joy to read.
Alison Greig, Editor
