What kind of hypochondriac are YOU? (C: Because Cowards Get Cancer Too - John Diamond)

Member Name: nikkisly

Product:	C: Because Cowards Get Cancer Too - John Diamond
Date:	12/01/01 (79 review reads)
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Writer and broadcaster John Diamond has cancer. For a broadcaster, he has a particularly cruel type of tumour, one which has (hopefully temporarily) robbed him of his voice. Luckily though, it has not taken his writing skills, nor completely eradicated his ascerbic sense of humour - although it is easy to imagine the latter becoming a bit 'dented' on bad days.

Since diagnosis, he has written frank accounts of the progression of his disease and the treatment he has received in his regular newspaper columns, prompting hundreds of letters from readers wishing he had been writing when they had been diagnosed.In doing so, he shattered many of the taboos associated with this illness, one that is discussed in hushed tones,(if at all) referred to with euphemisms and generally avoided for fear of inciting the wrath of the 'Cancer Gods' who might seek revenge.John Diamond has written "the book which he himself was looking for" on the night he received his bad news.

At that point,Diamond wanted to know what it was like to be a person with cancer, having to deal with the pain, anger and fear. This book is, as he points out, a book about HIS cancer...it is not a book about a personal battle, since he despises the warlike metaphors applied to the disease. It is not a book of 'alternative' cures, or of positive messages. The bottom line is that this is an account of the bare bones of Diamond's illness, with symptoms and treatments described in alarming detail - as the author says on one occasion " I know: gross. What were you expecting when you bought a book on cancer?"

Well, sadly, the depth of detail involved was NOT what I was expecting when I bought this particular book and I found myself constantly asking as I read it "Did we really need to know THAT?". Yet, at the same time, I was also not expecting to laugh out loud, as I did on several occasions while reading the book.

John Diam
ond freely admits to being a hypochondriac and describes two distinct types of hypochondria. Chronic hypochondriacs turn every twinge, pimple and sniffle into a life threatening medical crisis. On the other hand, acute hypochondriacs just want a doctor to acknowledge that they have a minor illness, something which makes them look ill and can be discussed at the pub. The author doesn't seem to consider for a moment that there may be a third type - people who might find his writing terrifying. Those who, having received their diagnosis, might read his book with mounting panic at the thought of what they might have to face in their own future.

It is for this reason alone that I wouldn't reccommend this book to a friend, particularly one who had friends or family diagnosed with cancer - or been diagnosed themself. Which is a shame, as Diamond writes beautifully... just a little too honestly. And, whereas I applaud his personal courage and his decision to bring the subject of cancer out into the open, to shatter some of the myths behind it, I can't help feeling that some of these myths might have been best left unshattered.

Had the book focused more on the emotional effects of cancer than the physical, I believe it would have served it's purpose in being the kind of book that would be of great use to the many people who receive that diagnosis every day. It is witty, brutally honest and intensely personal, totally devoid of jargon and described on the cover as 'inspirational'. For those who are fans of his writing, it is undoubtedly Diamond's best... at the same time, it is also his worst. Graphic throughout, it is not for the medically squeamish and, if I were unlucky enough to be suffering from cancer - as one in three of us will at some stage of our life - it is definitely NOT the sort of book I would want to read.

It all boils down to one question - what sort of hypochondriac are you?

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