There is one more book that is indeed worth reading about a cancer survivor. The book is:
Teva Harrison, In Between Days: a memoir about living with cancer, House of Anansi Press Inc, 2016. It is a very personal graphic novel, with short essays interspersed with graphic story. Order it from your favourite bookseller today.
I am still faced with the medical communication challenge where three hospitals are involved in the ongoing monitoring of my renal carcinoma. The Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton sometimes communicates with Stanton Hospital in Yellowknife, which sometimes communicates with the Inuvik Regional Hospital, which sometimes communicates with me. I used to say that tongue in cheek that cancer recovery is my full time job, but now I know it to be true. I am left as the one person who must make sure that communications actually take place, and that doctors and other staff actually follow through. This is complicated by the fact that Cross Cancer does not communicate AT ALL with my doctor here in Inuvik. If something needs to be in my medical file, it is up to me to find it and make sure a copy makes it to the file! Sometimes it gets exhausting.
Just today I have read of case studies about the role of humble asparagus in curing cancer. It is indeed a powerful natural healer as you will find in multiple sources on the Internet. So turmeric (or curcumin, the active ingredient) and asparagas seem to be the primary plant-based healers. With other antioxidants like blueberries and many vegetables providing nutritional support.
That's all part of being a proactive patient. Sometimes it takes all the energy you have. The patients who expect the doctors, clinics and hospitals to make all the connections in a timely way, end up waiting far too long, and being left out of the loop (and out of luck) far too often! I made sure to write everything down when I was under treatment for Leukaemia. Including the names of interns, dates, times, tests, reactions, the names of drugs, etc. etc. Some medical staff considered me a nuisance, others found it helpful. The best intern had been a veterinarian in a former career :)
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