Given the recent discussions in the research and clinical community around the pressure that can be placed on cancer patients by either themselves or their family and friends to remain positive at all times throughout their cancer journey, my response to the title of this book was hesitant.
For the author, positive is defined as “the term (that) describes the ‘upside’ of cancer that appears against all expectations, and seemingly, against the odds”. She also acknowledges that the positives are not immediate or apparent all the time or there for everyone. This is an important distinction and one that cannot be emphasised too highly.
It is a dense book. Dense in that there are many stories and many points of view expressed by those whose lives have been touched by a diagnosis of cancer. It is therefore a book that may be helpful to dip in and out of, but to read in a single sitting, or even several sittings, is overwhelming.
It illustrates well the individuality of the cancer experience. There are similarities and differences in the experiences and the stories and the reader may well find a story that fits their own. This can be reassuring, reaffirming and perhaps more importantly, an acknowledgement that a diagnosis of cancer touches everyone within the patient’s circle in different ways.
Collings has interviewed a wide cross-section of cancer patients, their friends and family - the well known and the unknown. It follows their stories across the cancer continuum from diagnosis, through treatment, remission and survivorship or relapse, palliative care and bereavement, and describes the effect of this journey on the lives of the patients, their families and caregivers. Some tighter editing may have helped to create a better flow in the stories.
Perhaps the single threat throughout the stories is that for many, they have not allowed a diagnosis of cancer to define them. They have gone on to embrace fuller lives, reclaim earlier dreams or ambitions and respond to the needs of others in similar situations. What unifies the stories is that a diagnosis of cancer is a life altering experience for all concerned.
Perhaps the final word remains with Dr Jane Turner (page 19), who highlights that: “It is true that some positives can come out of cancer: however, that is at a cost. People will talk about the positive things as a way of avoiding going into the dark space to talk about what has been a difficult time for them”. Collings has managed to achieve a balance through a collection of voices that express both the positives as well as the negatives.
This book is more directed towards patients and families, however the health professional who may read it will gain further insight into the psychosocial implications of a cancer diagnosis and the ripple effect created in the patient’s wider circle.