Keeping your Sense of Tumour! by John Blackburn
Being diagnosed with cancer, even an incurable form, isn't necessarily the end of the world. Having lived with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow, for three years (and still counting!) the author shows that with a positive attitude and the right support it is still possible to cope and enjoy life. The book is intended to illustrate this to anyone finding themselves in a similar situation, to thank all who have helped him, a self-confessed coward, to keeping going, and to raise money for appropriate charities. The story begins with his admission to hospital where he spent five months, during which time he had an operation to remove at tumour from his spine, began radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments and almost died from a combination of pneumonia and septic shock. A transfer to a nursing-home for seven months followed, bringing with it more setbacks before he was able to move back home. Three years after his initial diagnosis, he is still defying the odds and he tells his tale in such a light-hearted way that despite the seriousness of the subject matter the overall feeling that the reader is left with is a very positive one and no-one could fail to be affected by such a heart-warming account. The author was diagnosed with an incurable, though thankfully treatable, form of cancer just before his 61st birthday while serving his notice after forty-three years working for the Lancashire Library service. This is the heart-warming and surprisingly amusing story of how this self-confessed coward managed to overcome his lifelong phobia of anything medical with the help of Su, his wife of almost forty years, his family and a loyal band of friends so that he continues to enjoy his retirement, though maybe not quite in the same way as he and Su might have expected it to be.