The Human Side of Cancer: Living with Hope, Coping with Uncertainty

In The Human Side of Cancer, Jimmie C. Holland, M.D., explores the broad range of emotions people with cancer and their loved ones experience from the moment of diagnosis through the treatment and its aftermath. For more than twenty years, Dr. Holland has pioneered the study of psychological problems of cancer patients and their families -- whom she calls "the real experts." In The Human Side of Cancer, she shares what she has learned from all of them about facing this life-threatening illness and what truly helps along the cancer journey. This book is the next best thing to sitting in Dr. Holland's office and talking with her about the uncertainty and anxiety elicited by this disease. And it is a book that inspires hope -- through stories of the simple courage of ordinary people confronting cancer.

Offering the latest scientific information about the mind-body connection and cancer, Dr. Holland dispels the countless myths surrounding this controversial subject, including the notion that a person with cancer is somehow to blame for getting the disease or for not getting better.

Dr. Holland disputes the current one-size-fits-all approach to coping with cancer, based on her experience that everyone has a unique way of coping, which should be respected. She also provides the latest information on "medicine that doesn't come in a bottle" counseling, support groups, meditation, and other coping strategies that can help. This book imparts Dr. Holland's message of common sense and caring.

The Human Side of Cancer provides practical and compassionate guidance for dealing with

• A diagnosis of cancer and its uncertainties
• Societal myths and beliefs that may make coping more difficult
• Cancer treatment and its aftermath
• Life after a cancer cure
• Illness when comfort replaces cure as a goal
• Issues for families, including grief

Jimmie C. Holland, M.D., is chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and professor of psychiatry at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Dr. Holland received the American Cancer Society's highest award, the Medal of Honor, in 1994. She lives in Scarsdale, New York, with her husband, James F. Holland, M.D.

Sheldon Lewis is a journalist with a special interest in the human side of health. He lives in New York City with his wife and two sons.