Chicken Soup for the Cancer Survivor's Soul

BOOK: Chicken Soup for the Cancer Survivor's Soul
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Chicken Soup for the Cancer Survivor’s Soul
will not only comfort and inspire cancer survivors and their loved ones, it will comfort and inspire anyone breathing. It’s mandatory reading!”

Wally Amos
“The Cookie Man”


Chicken Soup for the Cancer Survivor’s Soul
is a great pick-me-up book. We all go through tough times in our lives. The inspiring stories in this book show us all that we can get through these events and even learn from them— that is the secret of surviving!”

Dan Jansen
Olympic gold-medal speed skater

“Yes! This wonderful book teaches us that one can make cancer a triumph instead of a tragedy! We can find the blessings... the lessons to be learned...the strength we never knew we had. I know... cancer was one of the most empowering ‘gifts’ in my life.”

Susan Jeffers, Ph.D.
author,
Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway
and
End the Struggle and Dance with Life

“Over the past 14 years of providing psychological and emotional support to thousands of cancer patients, we have discovered that there are significant therapeutic benefits from interacting with other cancer patients.
Chicken Soup for the Cancer Survivor’s Soul
, a wonderfully inspirational book, introduces the cancer patient to many others who understand every nuance of the cancer experience.”

Harold H. Benjamin, Ph.D.
founder and president, The Wellness Community

“These stories will take you by the hand and take you by the heart, and show you how much each of us can do.”

W. Mitchell, CPAE
author,
The Man Who Would Not Be Defeated
and
internationally recognized expert on change

“I loved this wonderful, heartwarming book. It reminded me of all the people I have worked with since 1974. Reading it was like sitting in a hundred support groups. You leave feeling you’ve shared something important, something of yourself.”

Elise NeeDell Babcock
founder, Cancer Counseling Inc.
and author,
When Life Becomes Precious


Chicken Soup for the Cancer Survivor’s Soul
shows us what all the blood tests, X rays and MRIs cannot possibly reveal—the true nature of the surviving soul. Through the horror of cancer, these heroes have found the honor of everyday life. By sharing their stories with us, they fill us with the power not only to survive but, indeed, to thrive. Besides cancer patients, their families and health-care givers, anyone who’s had so much as a broken nail or a broken heart should read this book.”

Robert Wollman, M.D.
Holy Cross Hospital Cancer Center

“This book is a godsend for anyone who needs some inspiration—as we all do. The stories in
Chicken Soup for the Cancer Survivor’s Soul
are from people who have a special insight into how to live life more fully and, in doing so, improve their health.”

O. Carl Simonton, M.D.
Simonton Cancer Center

CHICKEN SOUP
FOR THE
CANCER
SURVIVOR’S SOUL
101 Healing Stories About Those
Who Have Survived Cancer

Jack Canfield
Mark Victor Hansen
Patty Aubery
Nancy Mitchell, R.N.
Beverly Kirkhart

Health Communications, Inc.
Deerfield Beach, Florida
www.hcibooks.com
www.chickensoup.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is on file with the Library of Congress.

© 1996 John T. Canfield and Hansen and Hansen LLC

eISBN-13: 978-0-7573-9738-7 (ebook)                 eISNB-10: 0-7573-9738-7 (ebook)

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher.

HCI, its logos and marks are trademarks of Health Communications, Inc.

Publisher: Health Communications, Inc.
3201 S.W. 15th Street
Deerfield Beach, FL 33442-8190

R-09-07

Cover design by Andrea Perrine Brower

With love we dedicate
Chicken Soup for the Cancer Survivor’s Soul
to
Linda Mitchell—a survivor, and Patty and
Nancy’s mother—who originally suggested that
we compile it. She spent hundreds of hours
reading over a thousand stories and poems
in the creation of it and gave us the
encouragement to continue when we thought
it would never come to completion.
Chicken Soup for the Cancer Survivor’s Soul
would not exist without you!

We also dedicate it to
Jeff Aubery, Patty’s husband, who
spent the last six months of this project as
virtually a single parent with their son J.T.
while Patty worked to complete it.

No Road Too Steep

There is no path
so dark, nor road so steep,
nor hill so slippery
that other people have
not been there
before me
and survived.
May my dark times
teach me to help
the people I love
on similar journeys.

Maggie Bedrosian

Contents

Foreword
Bernie S. Siegel, M.D.

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. ON HOPE

What Cancer Cannot Do
Source Unknown

The Soul Menders
Susan Chernak McElroy

From on Chemo to on Camera
Kristine Kirsten

You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks
Howard J. Fuerst, M.D.

The Boy and the Billionaire
John Pekkanen

Hope
William M. Buchholz, M.D.

Amy Graham
Mark Victor Hansen

Wild Bill
Mary L. Rapp

Kids with Cansur
Geralyn Gaes

Cancer Has Been a Blessing
Kimberly A. Stoliker

Cancer and Career Choices
Robert H. Doss

It Is the Best of Times
Joanne P. Freeman

2. ON COURAGE AND DETERMINATION

Up the Down Slope
Adrienne Rivera

“Never Give Up!”
Speaker’s Sourcebook II

Not Without a Fight
Mary Helen Brindell

Nintendo Master
Katie Gill

Fighting Back—One Man’s Battle with a Brain Tumor
Reverend Robert Craig

Dare to Dream
Manuel Diotte

Fulfilling My Dreams
Marilyn R. Moody

Chris—One Special Fifth-Grader!
Louise Biggs

My Hero
Katie Gill

Keep on Keeping On
Erik Olesen

The Container
Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D.

3. ON ATTITUDE

The Best Day of My Life
Gregory M. Lousig-Nont, Ph.D.

Love Is Stronger...
John Wayne Schlatter

The Power to Choose
Sharon Bruckman

Laugh!
Peter McWilliams

The “Wee” Nurse
Norman Cousins

Until Tomorrow Comes
Wanda Kelly

Two Things Not to Worry About
Source Unknown

Head First
Norman Cousins

I’ve Just Got to Make That Man Laugh!
Meladee and Hanoch McCarty

The Prosthesis Intruder
Maureen J. Khan-Lacoss

The Value of Laughter
Norman Cousins

The Choice Is Yours
Beverly Kirkhart

Having an Attitude
Robert Lipsyte

Reaching for the Best
Norman Cousins

The Centerfold
Allen Klein

The Power of Laughter
Allen Klein

Victim or Survivor
Paula (Bachleda) Koskey

4. ON FAITH

Going for the Prize
Paul Azinger

Say a Prayer
Bob Westenberg

On Faith
Bernie S. Siegel, M.D.

The Holy Water
Kathy LaTour

Great Expectations
Jeanette Doyle Parr

I Said a Prayer for You Today
Source Unknown

Don’t Worry—Be Happy
Paul Santaro

All the Necessary Supplies
Dianne Clark

5. ON LOVE

Eileen Brown’s Story
Eileen Brown O’Riley

A Pocket Full of Quarters
Anne C. Washburn

Manuel Garcia
David Roth

Hairs
Jaime Rosenthal

Dear Mommy
Alexi Thomas

Saint Christopher’s Protection
Cynthia Bonney Mannering

Our Hero Brian
Norma Yamamoto

Happy Anniversary
Allen Klein

Love and Support
Christine M. Creley

Love Cures People
Janine Crawford

Out in the Open
Michelle

“You Are Going to Need a Surgeon”
Delva Seavy-Rebin

I Believe in Miracles
Chris King

6. ON SUPPORT

“Pete, You Have Cancer!”
Pete Legge

Teens Launch Campaign to Save Dying Baby’s Life
Jeff Leeland

Judy
Nancy Richard-Guilford

Mrs. G in 3B
Linda Neukrug

The Wellness Community
Harold H. Benjamin, Ph.D.

The Corporate Angel Network
The Corporate Angel Network

To Climb a Mountain
Diana L. Chapman

An Affair to Remember
Linda Mitchell

Simply Hold a Hand
Bernie S. Siegel, M.D.

You’ve Got a Friend
Carole King

Dear Dr. Terebelo
Paula (Bachleda) Koskey

To the Nurses of the World
John Wayne Schlatter

The Healing
Sybil Taylor

Kindest Cut
People Magazine

Taking Time for Tenderness
Mary Vaughn Armstrong

Practical Tips to Help the Seriously III
Saint Anthony’s Health Center

How to Make a Sick Child Smile
Marilyn Phillips

The Way Back
Doris Knight

Reach to Recovery
Sally de Lipkau

Taking Charge
Phil

A Special Mission
Sister Sue Tracy, O.P.

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