here are over 10 million cancer survivors in North America, and every year doctors diagnose one million new cases. Most survivors emerge disoriented and scarred. The side effects are not only physical: Emotional and financial instability, changed relationships and spiritual questions leave many feeling overwhelmed. Survivors speak of feeling fragmented, of needing to "pick up the pieces" of their lives once the struggle with cancer is over. Practical, reassuring and informative, Picking Up the Pieces is based on 15 years of research and interviews with hundreds of survivors. Magee and Scalzo guide survivors through a unique process with daily practices that build a bridge from hospital to home, and beyond.
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From the Publisher
It’s your last day of treatment – now what? You didn’t expect to feel sad or scared. Everyone else is celebrating. Why aren’t you?
We know about the symptoms, treatments and side effects of cancer, but survivors are not always prepared for the questions that follow.
Cancer changes us in more ways than we expect.
Why did I survive when others didn’t?
Will I ever be able to trust my body again?
What is life all about?
Who is important to me?
Why can’t I go back to the way things were?
How do I tell my family I’m different?
For the one million cancer survivors in Canada, and the 150,000 more diagnosed with the disease each year, there is no guide to act as a bridge from hospital to home – until now.
Written by the leading Canadian experts on life after cancer, Picking Up the Pieces is the first book to combine the inspiring voices of survivors with a practical recovery process.
Preston Manning, Former Leader of the Official Opposition and cancer survivor says, “As a cancer survivor, I have experienced many of the uncertainties and emotions that Magee and Scalzo describe so well. I highly recommend their book and their helpful strategies for coping, not only to cancer survivors, but to the families, friends, and care givers of those endeavouring to ‘pick up the pieces’.”
About the Author
Sherri Magee, PhD, (Vancouver) has a doctorate in interdisciplinary medicine, specializing in short- and long-term effects of cancer. She designs personal recovery programs and trains physiotherapists and is co-founder of Abreast in a Boat Dragon Boat Society and executive director of Hope House Cancer Society. Kathy Scalzo, MSOD, (Vancouver) is president of a consulting group specializing in change and transition management. She serves on the board of directors of the BC Rehabilitation Society and is a faculty member of the Canadian Medical Association's Physician Management Institute. Magee and Scalzo are regular lecturers at UBC's School of Rehabilitation Sciences.
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Gail Konantz
Format:Paperback
After the last treatment, people with cancer are left on their own to figure out how to continue their lives.
This book is essential reading. It fills a void in cancer literature. I loved that the authors interviewed hundreds of survivors and I found the guidelines easy to understand. Many were fun too as they showed me how to get unstuck and follow a constructive path. I really related to the problems outlined in this book. I found the suggestions for dealing with my fears and all the changes wrought by this complex disease, fresh, original and helpful.
I've read a lot of books on cancer but have to say this one is the first to offer me such an easy to follow, constructive way to live my new normal life.
This book is essential reading. It fills a void in cancer literature. I loved that the authors interviewed hundreds of survivors and I found the guidelines easy to understand. Many were fun too as they showed me how to get unstuck and follow a constructive path. I really related to the problems outlined in this book. I found the suggestions for dealing with my fears and all the changes wrought by this complex disease, fresh, original and helpful.
I've read a lot of books on cancer but have to say this one is the first to offer me such an easy to follow, constructive way to live my new normal life.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
"Picking up the Pieces" is a gem amongst self-help books, speaking with intelligence and sensitivity directly to cancer survivors, and, by proxy, to readers who have lived through other catastrophic illnesses. General readers will come away with a greater understanding of the experience of family and friends who are survivors.
This book manages to be both reader-friendly and theoretically sound, rising above the run of self-help books by eschewing the simplistic and the prescriptive without sacrificing accessibility and practicality.
The authors apply transition theory to the time in between, that no-man's land between when the treatment has ended and when the survivor is "back on track," the same person at the core, but with a changed perspective on the world and a new or renewed direction in their own life.
Magee and Scalzo offer a "plot your own course" map for the journey from survival to a more meaningful life. Frequent quotes from survivors validate the reader's own experience and put real flesh on the bones of the healing process.
Every chapter includes concrete steps for planning and action, all focused on guiding readers to the heart of their unique experience. The authors recommend two ongoing practices - attentive walking and a 5 question check-in, to keep in touch with the core self as the inner guide. A "self-scan" of body, mind, spirit and relationships, and a "healing plan" provide frameworks within which readers are encouraged to make choices, articulate intentions and identify actions.
But "Picking up the Pieces" recognizes that obstacles and diversions can sabotage even the best hopes, and the book does not stint on identifying predictable barriers and proposing strategies to overcome them.
This is an inspiring and encouraging read for anyone who wants to take control of their own healing and rise to the greatest calling of all - "to be your most authentic self."
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By sally mclean
Format:Paperback
When I think of all the people I know who are trying to carry on after cancer diagnosis and treatment, I'm aware of how different we all are. Some of us become quite sure it's behind us and begin to believe there's life ahead. Some of us deal daily with the dread that our lives are to be shortened, and struggle reluctantly to seize each day creatively, wishing we could blissfully waste time the way we used to. It's a huge change to get your head around, and this book really helps.
I've been quoting bits of it to everyone - not just people with cancer either. If you know someone who has had a scare, a wake-up call, an incident or a tough time that moves them to take stock and re-think how they want to live - give them this book.
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