Do yourself a favour and read this book (C: Because Cowards Get Cancer Too - John Diamond)

Member Name: senaiboy

Product:	C: Because Cowards Get Cancer Too - John Diamond
Date:	15/05/09 (8 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: An in-depth honest account on life with cancer, with informative details

Disadvantages: It's a heart-wrenching book to read, so be emotionally prepared

I was handed this book by the consultant during my medical attachment in the ENT department. And from the first page, John Diamond had kept me flipping the pages to the end. I was so absorbed into his account of his life after the diagnosis, and it just had me wishing 'no, his life is not ending with this book' as I read.


Publisher's Synopsis of the book
Shortly before his 44th birthday, John Diamond received a call from the doctor who had removed a lump from his neck. Having been assured for the previous 2 years that this was a benign cyst, Diamond was told that it was cancerous. This is the story of Diamond's life with, and without, a lump.

My Synopsis of the book
A compelling story of a self-diagnosed hypochondriac, who had found himself waiting for his next heart attack all his life. Yet when cancer comes knocking on his door, he realises that even the constant suspecting that he is unwell does not mean that when something bad really happens, he's more prepared for it. Throughout the book he gave the readers a blow-by-blow account of his battle with cancer, from the radiotherapy and its good-cells-destroying side effects, to the effect it had on his friends, his wife, and most of all, himself.


My Opinion on the book
The author managed to give a first hand perspective on what someone goes through went the C word hits, all in his own style of writing and humor. He did not make it seem like something that can be taken lightly, yet did not make it too dramatic. I find that he had found a perfect balance in between them in his writing.

It's a book on life after the diagnosis, and tells of the journey beyond that, and even those little things that we have always taken for granted which was being taken away from him. One can see the denial, anger, depression he experienced. Yet he did not make the book all self-indulgent, and more than partly, it showed how his friends, family, children, and especially his wife had dealt with it.

For one who have never known cancer first or second or third hand, he had really opened up my mind and brings me out of my 'protected' life. As I reach the end of the book, it just wrenched my heart to know that I had only read this book almost a decade after it is written.

It is relatively short and could be finished in 2 days, therefore I'm recommending everyone to read this book, especially if you have been ignorant like me (yet I'm a medical student) and have never known first hand or second hand of anyone with cancer.


Information on the book
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Vermilion; New Ed edition (8 April 1999)
Language English
Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.6 x 2 cm


> read the book before you read on <



Background on the author
John Diamond was a broadcaster and columnist for several papers, notably the Times where he had published his accounts on his life with cancer (some of which appears in the book). He had also made a documentary of his journey with BBC's Inside Story.

He passed away in 2001, 4 years after being diagnosed with cancer, 2 years after the book was published. I hope he and his family had cherished every moment they had together. My deepest condolences to everyone who knew him, and especially his wife, Nigella Lawson.

And it saddens me that I have missed out on all the articles he had written for his columns.

NOTE: Similar review written by myself on Ciao.co.uk before this.

Summary: Definitely a must-read, tells the journey in life after diagnosis from the first-person perspective