Spring 2001
Cancer Librarians Section Newsletter

Book Review

This issue Cheryl Warren reviews the book 'The Human Side of Cancer: Living with Hope, Coping with Uncertainty'. The review is accompanied by the comments of one of the authors, Jimmie C. Holland, M.D., on her experiences that led to the book.

Holland, Jimmie and Sheldon Lewis. The Human Side of Cancer: Living with Hope, Coping with Uncertainty. New York: HarperCollins, 2000. 340p. ISBN 0-06-017371-8 $25.00

Dr. Holland, a pioneer in the field of psycho-oncology and editor of the textbook, Psycho-Oncology, NY: Oxford University Press, 1998, has written a thoughtful book on the cancer experience for the patient, family member or caregiver. Coping skills, survival techniques, and self help strategies are discussed with quality of life and emotional well being as the goal. Interspersed with her advice and observations are actual comments from cancer patients. Providing practical, compassionate information and suggestions, The Human Side of Cancer is a useful addition to public and patient libraries.

Cheryl Warren, AHIP
Medical Librarian
ValleyCare Health Library and Ryan Comer Cancer Resource Center

Dr. Holland writes:

"The Human Side of Cancer: Living with Hope, Coping with Uncertainty is about the "human effects" of cancer as opposed to the "physical aspects" that are treated by the oncologists and their staff. These "human effects" are part of every encounter with every doctor and every staff member irrespective of the stage of illness or the treatments. Some of these issues are psychological, some are social, and some are existential or spiritual. They are central to all care, yet frequently given low priority by the medical staff whose attitude (too often) is: "I don't have time to deal with that today." But individuals and their families confronting cancer grapple with these human issues every day and want them to be addressed. And that is the reason for my writing the book.

From my twenty-plus years of caring for patients with cancer, here are the key "human" issues that we need to deal with when cancer illness occurs. We start by sorting out the myths and beliefs about cancer and present the current state of knowledge about the mind-body connection and cancer. Coping with a cancer diagnosis is the first crisis to work through, with its threat to life and existential questions. Next, it becomes important to become a partner with your doctor. A positive doctor-patient relationship can make the cancer treatment -- and the whole cancer experience -- infinitely easier.

With the chapter on "Coping," the book begins to look at the crux of the psychosocial realities that impact on having cancer. First, we give the needed guidelines on how to cope with the illness and when to seek help. Second, we tackle the psychological effects of different treatments - and how to deal with them. The bottom line is how to get through the treatment in the best possible way. Then, we outline the most common types of cancers and the specific psychosocial issues related to each.

The longest chapter is devoted to the range of psychological help that is available today and that we have found effective with people with cancer. Over ten techniques and therapies are described and our advice is that the individual try those that appeal to him/her. The key point here is the individuality, the uniqueness of the person. What works for one, may not work for another.

Since cancer is becoming an increasingly chronic disease, we felt the nature of survivorship had to be addressed in current terms. The good news is that psychological and social support for the patient and family is now more readily available and many of these programs are tailored for the needs of survivors, who carry emotional baggage from the experience. They want to know how to stay healthy, how to avoid recurrence and developing a new cancer. As survivors, they also want to be certain that family members are protected by good health habits and practices, so we give guidelines for a healthy life-style and for proper screening to assure early detection. The family as a "caregiver" is considered in its present-day context, with the burden and stress created by this new phenomenon.

Yet another extension of survivorship is palliative care. Its importance is increasingly recognized throughout the country. These programs have repeatedly been shown to improve quality of life. Also new is the growing number of people who use alternative and complementary therapies. We discuss the reasons why this is happening and list ten do's and don't's to keep in mind when using these methods.

Because cancer implies an actual or threatened loss of health and life, we also discuss surviving the loss of a loved one and suggest ways of overcoming grief and bereavement and of continuing to face the future.

When you think of the human side of cancer, you inevitably think of meaning. Giving meaning to the illness, finding meaning in life after cancer. In a sense, this is the underlying theme of the book. We explore this dimension in its many facets in the chapter, "The Last Taboo," so called because our society avoids talking about ultimate questions like the meaning of life and death. But we take up the call, and offer many ways to find meaning: psychological, spiritual, philosophical.

The final section of the book is "Resources" - fifteen pages of names/addresses and everything else needed to obtain more information on general topics and on specific cancers. My last comment is personal. I tried to write this book as if I were talking with the reader sitting in my office and we were talking face-to-face about the problems she or he had to deal with along the way, and through the chapters, I've tried to help them find the kind of support they want. In so doing, I hope we have helped the reader manage the human side of cancer."