CANCERVIVE

A down-to-earth guidebook for survivors of cancer, who face many problems when they finish treatment and reenter the everyday world of the well: ending their emotional ties with their care- givers; managing fear of cancer's recurrence; rebuilding relationships with family, friends, and lovers; obtaining medical insurance; getting or keeping a job; coping with the long-term effects of chemotherapy and radiation and sometimes with loss of a body part or loss of fertility. Especially useful are the sections on insurance and job discrimination, which summarize legal rights and provide lists of sources for help and information. The value of support groups such as Cancervive, which Nessim (herself a cancer survivor) founded, is emphasized. Personal anecdotes from cancer survivors and professional advice from social workers, oncologists, nurses, and others are used judiciously throughout to reinforce the authors' points. Although aimed specifically at former cancer patients, the common-sense approach employed by Nessim and Ellis (the latter has written for Life and L.A. West) makes this valuable reading for survivors of other chronic illnesses facing social barriers and physical and emotional burdens.