Having dedicated my whole nursing career to cancer patients and families, I have been blessed in knowing
many loving and courageous people. Caring for these special people has given me real experiences that no text book could ever
teach. I have worked with cancer patients in many settings including the hospital, doctor's office, clinic, home and hospice.
I have seen how patients and families struggle through diagnosis, treatment, and successes and failures of having cancer in
a support group I established and counseled.
Not only have I had the experience as an objective care giver to cancer patients, but also, I have been on
the receiving end of going through the feelings when my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It was hard being both
her oncology nurse and daughter, but I was given a rare opportunity of giving back to her the love and compassion with which
she raised me.
I don't claim to know everything about cancer, but I would like to share my knowledge, experiences, and feelings
with others to help make the journey easier. I have found that knowledge is power, and the more information people have, the
more control they have over the outcome of the quality of their lives. Throughout the years, I have collected the information
I feel each person dealing with cancer needs to know to conquer the illness.
I tried to explain the information into understandable language in list form when possible. I found that
glancing at lists is easier than stumbling through lengthy paragraphs to find answers to your questions. I have placed difficult
words in italic so that you can look up the meanings in Appendix A Definitions. Most of the information is cut and dry. There
is nothing cut and dry about feelings, so the chapter on feelings is where I tried to show sensitivity.
I hope you find this book a helpful reference you can refer to anytime. Use it as a notebook when you go
to the doctors or simply keep it handy when you want more detailed information.
I wish you every success in your battle with cancer and welcome any comments to improve this book.
