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Help at hand
Cancer and Society
Books Help at hand The term “information overload” first entered the popular lexicon in the 1970s, with the publication of Alvin Toffler’s bestseller Future Shock. Toffler used the term to describe the mental fug that descends when someone is confronted with an overwhelming amount of new information that they need to assess rationally. Although Toffler’s book preceded the commercialisation and incorporation of the internet into almost every facet of life by two decades, any layman interested in finding out more about cancer will probably find information overload an apt term to describe the avalanche of facts, lies, and statistics that present themselves after a cursory google. But help is at hand. For some time now, the Oxford University Press has been producing a series of Very Short Introductions aimed at providing an accessible overview of new, complex subjects. Slotting in between the unlikely bedfellows of Buddhist ethics and capitalism, cancer now has its own entry in the series. Written by Nicholas James, a professor of clinical oncology at the University of Birmingham, UK, Cancer: A Very Short Introduction manages to cover epidemiology, basic biology, research, treatment, and the economic impact of cancer in a little over 100 pages. James succeeds in simplifying concepts as diverse as gene expression and clinical trial regulations
engagingly, without distorting the underlying facts. However, there are a few niggles. The style can occasionally veer from authoritatively accessible to academically dry, and the chapter on the economics of cancer care suffers as a whole from an overly narrow focus on UK-specific issues. Although cramming such a labyrinthine subject into 15 pages might be asking too much, some space might have been saved at the expense of some of the often drab and superfluous figures— James’ prose is usually illustrative enough. Cancer: A Very Short Introduction gives a measured treatment of the progress, or lack thereof, against cancer since Nixon infamously declared war on the disease in 1971. By contrast, Lauren Pecorino’s Why Millions Survive Cancer: The Successes of Science is a relentlessly upbeat account of the advances made in the past few decades. Pecorino aims to give us an “evidence-based report on the good news about cancer”, and she does so, with a breezy, infectious enthusiasm. Why Millions Survive Cancer covers much of the same ground as James’ A Short Introduction, and is often a more engaging read, but suffers from an inability to decide whether it wants to be a self-help manual, a subject primer, or cover-to-cover popular science. As a result, Why Millions Survive Cancer is too often hamstrung by its lack of cohesion.
While Pecorino’s book explores why millions of people survive cancer, The Cancer Survivor’s Companion sets out to provide those millions with practical ways to cope with life after the disease. A collaboration between the clinical psychologist Frances Goodhart and the health journalist Lucy Atkins, The Cancer Survivor’s Companion is a book about emotions. Worry, depression, anger, and low self-esteem can all be part of a life after the all-clear that can feel “as hard as anything that came before”. Goodhart and Atkins tackle each in turn, and offer up simple, practical advice for first of all recognising when negative feelings are becoming a problem, and then dealing with them when they arise. The collaborative approach has paid dividends. Goodhart’s expertise and insight allied with Atkins ability to present concepts in simple language without once falling into the trap of patronising the reader has produced a book of genuine practical value. Case studies, tips, and the detailed easy-tofollow step-by-step exercises make The Cancer Survivor’s Companion a useful source of support for anyone struggling after they complete treatment, and is a worthwhile read for any clinician, friend, or family member interested in getting a better understanding of what patients with cancer go through as they try to adjust to life after care.
Cancer: A Very Short Introduction Nick James, OUP, 2011. Pp 144, £7.99. ISBN 9780199560233 Why Millions Survive Cancer: The Successes of Science Lauren Pecorino, OUP, 2011. Pp 256, £8.50. ISBN 9780199580552 The Cancer Survivor’s Companion: Practical Ways to Cope with Your Feelings After Cancer Frances Goodhart, Lucy Atkins. Piatkus Books 2011. Pp 288, £14.99. ISBN 9780749954857
David Holmes
Voices from the front: January “Dum spiro, spero. It means ‘where there is breath, there is hope’ ”, said the middle-aged Russian women 25 years ago when I was a young oncology fellow. She was lean and angular, simply dressed, her manner unflinching. Sitting next to her was her father, an elderly, dehydrated bald man with dried bloody sores on his lips. He stared straight ahead, defiant. He had fought in Leningrad against the Germans, she explained. He would never give up and he wanted his treatment today. And so, we again tested the limits of his endurance, this time as he fought against his pancreatic cancer.
David M Mastrianni
www.thelancet.com/oncology Vol 13 January 2012
21
Books Help at hand The term “information overload” first entered the popular lexicon in the 1970s, with the publication of Alvin Toffler’s bestseller Future Shock. Toffler used the term to describe the mental fug that descends when someone is confronted with an overwhelming amount of new information that they need to assess rationally. Although Toffler’s book preceded the commercialisation and incorporation of the internet into almost every facet of life by two decades, any layman interested in finding out more about cancer will probably find information overload an apt term to describe the avalanche of facts, lies, and statistics that present themselves after a cursory google. But help is at hand. For some time now, the Oxford University Press has been producing a series of Very Short Introductions aimed at providing an accessible overview of new, complex subjects. Slotting in between the unlikely bedfellows of Buddhist ethics and capitalism, cancer now has its own entry in the series. Written by Nicholas James, a professor of clinical oncology at the University of Birmingham, UK, Cancer: A Very Short Introduction manages to cover epidemiology, basic biology, research, treatment, and the economic impact of cancer in a little over 100 pages. James succeeds in simplifying concepts as diverse as gene expression and clinical trial regulations
engagingly, without distorting the underlying facts. However, there are a few niggles. The style can occasionally veer from authoritatively accessible to academically dry, and the chapter on the economics of cancer care suffers as a whole from an overly narrow focus on UK-specific issues. Although cramming such a labyrinthine subject into 15 pages might be asking too much, some space might have been saved at the expense of some of the often drab and superfluous figures— James’ prose is usually illustrative enough. Cancer: A Very Short Introduction gives a measured treatment of the progress, or lack thereof, against cancer since Nixon infamously declared war on the disease in 1971. By contrast, Lauren Pecorino’s Why Millions Survive Cancer: The Successes of Science is a relentlessly upbeat account of the advances made in the past few decades. Pecorino aims to give us an “evidence-based report on the good news about cancer”, and she does so, with a breezy, infectious enthusiasm. Why Millions Survive Cancer covers much of the same ground as James’ A Short Introduction, and is often a more engaging read, but suffers from an inability to decide whether it wants to be a self-help manual, a subject primer, or cover-to-cover popular science. As a result, Why Millions Survive Cancer is too often hamstrung by its lack of cohesion.
While Pecorino’s book explores why millions of people survive cancer, The Cancer Survivor’s Companion sets out to provide those millions with practical ways to cope with life after the disease. A collaboration between the clinical psychologist Frances Goodhart and the health journalist Lucy Atkins, The Cancer Survivor’s Companion is a book about emotions. Worry, depression, anger, and low self-esteem can all be part of a life after the all-clear that can feel “as hard as anything that came before”. Goodhart and Atkins tackle each in turn, and offer up simple, practical advice for first of all recognising when negative feelings are becoming a problem, and then dealing with them when they arise. The collaborative approach has paid dividends. Goodhart’s expertise and insight allied with Atkins ability to present concepts in simple language without once falling into the trap of patronising the reader has produced a book of genuine practical value. Case studies, tips, and the detailed easy-tofollow step-by-step exercises make The Cancer Survivor’s Companion a useful source of support for anyone struggling after they complete treatment, and is a worthwhile read for any clinician, friend, or family member interested in getting a better understanding of what patients with cancer go through as they try to adjust to life after care.
Cancer: A Very Short Introduction Nick James, OUP, 2011. Pp 144, £7.99. ISBN 9780199560233 Why Millions Survive Cancer: The Successes of Science Lauren Pecorino, OUP, 2011. Pp 256, £8.50. ISBN 9780199580552 The Cancer Survivor’s Companion: Practical Ways to Cope with Your Feelings After Cancer Frances Goodhart, Lucy Atkins. Piatkus Books 2011. Pp 288, £14.99. ISBN 9780749954857
David Holmes
Voices from the front: January “Dum spiro, spero. It means ‘where there is breath, there is hope’ ”, said the middle-aged Russian women 25 years ago when I was a young oncology fellow. She was lean and angular, simply dressed, her manner unflinching. Sitting next to her was her father, an elderly, dehydrated bald man with dried bloody sores on his lips. He stared straight ahead, defiant. He had fought in Leningrad against the Germans, she explained. He would never give up and he wanted his treatment today. And so, we again tested the limits of his endurance, this time as he fought against his pancreatic cancer.
David M Mastrianni
www.thelancet.com/oncology Vol 13 January 2012
21