Surviving After Cancer: Living the New Normal

by Anne Katz

Overview

With so many people surviving cancer and living 'the new normal,' guiding survivors and their families through the phases of recovery has become an imperative. But learning to live as a survivor and dealing with both the triumphs and challenges, including fear of recurrence, depression, life and occupational stress, the need for surveillance for complications and secondary cancers, sex and relationship issues, diet and exercise for a healthy life, can be confusing and difficult. Finding resources to help equip survivors and their families for this new phase can be difficult. However, this book, based on studies and current practice in the area of cancer survivorship, will help guide readers through the most crucial areas of recovery post-cancer. Each chapter presents the story of a cancer survivor who meets the challenges of survivorship and contains tips and solutions for problems encountered in all aspects of survivorship. Readers will not only gain a better understanding of this new phase of life, but will come away with solid advice for leading a healthy and productive life again.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442203655
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	04/16/2011
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Anne Katz, RN, PhD, is the author of four books on cancer and related illnesses. She is also a sexuality counselor at CancerCare Manitoba and adjunct professor with the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Canada.

Anne Katz's website.

Anne Katz's Goodreads page.

Table of Contents

Part I What Is the New Normal?

1 You're a Survivor Now 3

Part II The Challenges of Being a Cancer Survivor

2 Is the Cancer Back? 9

3 When Will I Be Happy Again? 27

4 What Will Everyone Say? 45

5 Why Do I Feel So Tired? 63

6 Where Did That Feeling Go? 83

7 Feeling Fit 103

8 What Should I Be Looking For? 119

9 We Want to Start a Family 131

10 Am I Losing My Mind? 151

Part III Surviving and Thriving: The New Normal

11 A Blueprint for Health 171

12 Resources 189

Bibliography 201

Index 207

About the Author 209

Editorial Reviews

Anne Katz draws from her experience as an author and a nurse to shine a light on the lives of patients and their families once cancer treatment has been completed. This illumination reaches the corners of fear of recurrence, return to work, fatigue, sexuality and fertility issues, diet and exercise, survivorship care plans, and the cognitive and emotional difficulties that may or may not resolve....Surviving After Cancer offers insight and compassion for the 10 million current cancer survivors....For those who like to hold and read a book for information, whether survivor or healthcare provider, this text is current and helpful.

Oncology Nursing Forum

Anne Katz provides ample evidence that cancer changes everything. She identifies several major hurdles that often linger long after therapy ends. Each one is presented through the eyes of a survivor who overcame it and is now “living the new normal.” A cancer survivor reading this book may not have personally experienced all nine hurdles, but he or she will certainly identify with several....Surviving After Cancer: Living the New Normal is a very well organized book. It is written to help survivors and their families, and it does an able job at that. All advice provided is backed by solid research. And the patient stories make it easy for survivors to identify with many others who are also living the new normal. This book is a good resource for cancer patients at all stages of their illnesses. A newly diagnosed patient can read it and anticipate what may happen after therapy. A survivor recently discharged from care can read the sections that coincide with the hurdles they are encountering, and family members can do likewise. Using the excellent information and resources that Anne Katz has assembled here should make the cancer journey a smoother one with fewer detours. It may also improve understanding among family members who live with the survivor.

New York Journal of Books

Anne Katz has written a smart, engaging, user-friendly guide for cancer survivors and those who love them. What shines through this book is not the cancer, but human beings-real people, to whom Dr. Katz transmits generous doses of information, help, and hope.

Gina Ogden

Dr Katz has done it again! Congratulations to a job well done. Dr Katz is a health care professional who REALLY cares about cancer, its impact on patients and their loved ones. Her book demonstrates an empathetic dedication to professionalism and provides a comprehensive guide for both the detail oriented health care professional and survivor. It is an excellent resource that succeeds to assist with the complexities of cancer care navigation. Her book is an asset for the oncological and survivorship community.

Michael L. Krychman

In this uplifting book, registered nurse Katz gives hope to the more-than-10-million cancer survivors in the U.S. Each of nine chapters focuses on a patient with a different kind of cancer (bladder, uterine, breast), each of whom faces different issues, such as depression, embarrassment, and exhaustion, and, ultimately, fares well. A woman with breast cancer initially doesn’t like the look of her implants. A man with colon cancer can’t seem to talk with his wife over his feelings about his ostomy bag. A construction worker with prostate cancer feels uneasy talking to his boss about how he will need accommodations since he needs to go to the bathroom frequently and can’t do heavy lifting for a while. Sexuality counselor as well as nurse, Katz gives helpful and explicit information about stress reduction, sensual massage, and lubricants....Cancer survivors and their friends and families will get a psychological boost from her book.

Booklist

As stated in the first chapter of this accessible primer by registered nurse Katz (Univ. of Manitoba, Winnipeg; Sex When You're Sick: Reclaiming Sexual Health After Illness or Injury), cancer changes everything. She even begins rather untraditionally with the obfuscating nature of the word survivor. Katz then presents nine personal stories relating the challenges of a cancer life: fear of recurrence, post-treatment depression, returning to the workplace, fatigue, sex and relationships, a healthy diet/lifestyle, doctor appointments and follow-up, childbearing, and cognitive difficulties. The narratives are interrupted by statements/factoids intended to clarify or further develop the basic concept. The penultimate chapter is a digest of the cancer odysseys, summing up the information into what the author calls "A Blueprint for Health." The book concludes with a resources section. VERDICT With numerous excellent survivor guides available (e.g., Marisa C. Weiss and Ellen Weiss's Living Beyond Breast Cancer; Lucia Giuggio Carvalho and James A. Stewart's The Everything® Health Guide to Living with Breast Cancer), Katz's title might seem a bit superfluous, especially at this price. Still, the disease continues to affect hundreds of thousands of individuals and families annually. If cancer memoirs circulate well in your library and budgets allow, consider adding this to the health shelf.—Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal

Library Journal

In this uplifting book, registered nurse Katz gives hope to the more-than-10-million cancer survivors in the U.S. Each of nine chapters focuses on a patient with a different kind of cancer (bladder, uterine, breast), each of whom faces different issues, such as depression, embarrassment, and exhaustion, and, ultimately, fares well. A woman with breast cancer initially doesn’t like the look of her implants. A man with colon cancer can’t seem to talk with his wife over his feelings about his ostomy bag. A construction worker with prostate cancer feels uneasy talking to his boss about how he will need accommodations since he needs to go to the bathroom frequently and can’t do heavy lifting for a while. Sexuality counselor as well as nurse, Katz gives helpful and explicit information about stress reduction, sensual massage, and lubricants....Cancer survivors and their friends and families will get a psychological boost from her book.

Booklist

In this book, with beautiful and detailed stories, Anne Katz deals with the major topics of surviving cancer. She is a superb observer of the various emotions that happen in patients and partners confronted with cancer and confronted with the medical professionals. She clearly explains the how and why of the various side effects of this process and her stories lay down the path towards solutions. Anne Katz is one of the very few professionals able to combine in her writing a loving picture of human people with well balanced inside information on disease and treatment.

Woet Gianotten

Anne Katz provides ample evidence that cancer changes everything. She identifies several major hurdles that often linger long after therapy ends. Each one is presented through the eyes of a survivor who overcame it and is now “living the new normal.” A cancer survivor reading this book may not have personally experienced all nine hurdles, but he or she will certainly identify with several....Surviving After Cancer: Living the New Normal is a very well organized book. It is written to help survivors and their families, and it does an able job at that. All advice provided is backed by solid research. And the patient stories make it easy for survivors to identify with many others who are also living the new normal. This book is a good resource for cancer patients at all stages of their illnesses. A newly diagnosed patient can read it and anticipate what may happen after therapy. A survivor recently discharged from care can read the sections that coincide with the hurdles they are encountering, and family members can do likewise. Using the excellent information and resources that Anne Katz has assembled here should make the cancer journey a smoother one with fewer detours. It may also improve understanding among family members who live with the survivor.

New York Journal Of Books