When I was diagnosed with cancer, the first thing I wanted to do was start reading everything I could get my hands on about it. I started immediately with Google, but realized quickly that was not a good idea as it’s difficult to wade through results and understand what applies, and what doesn’t. Since then, I’ve mostly stuck to published scientific articles, books, and a few web resources. Here’s my reading list (so far) and the resources I’ve found the most helpful.
Books
There are thousands of cancer books out there. Sometimes I feel like I’ve read them all but I’ve barely made a dent. I have read quite a few that were incredibly helpful. They include books about the disease itself, as well as those about healing, focusing on diet, exercise and mental health.
Anticancer: A New Way of Life by David Servan-Schreiber is probably my favorite of all the “about the disease” books. The author tells the story of his own cancer weaved in amongst information about what cancer is. He also includes advice about lifestyle (diet, exercise, mind).
Crazy Sexy Cancer Survivor by Kris Carr is a wonderful book for advice on staying positive and getting healthy. It’s fun, funny, and uplifting.
Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness by Jon Kabat-Zinn is about the author’s eight-week meditation program to help people who are ill because of sickness or stress. I found this book incredibly helpful in learning how to calm myself in the face of extreme anxiety because of my diagnosis. I learned skills that I continue to use to relax and, at times, meditate. This helps me get to sleep at night, which is always a good thing.
The Definitive Guide to Cancer: An Integrative Approach to Prevention, Treatment, and Healing by Lise N. Alschuler is what the title says: a comprehensive guide to everything about cancer. I highly recommend this book. It has chapters and sections specific to certain kinds of cancer as well as overall information about the disease and treatments, including both conventional and integrative therapies. It’s a great reference to have on hand.
Those are my favorites, but there are many more on the list I’d recommend including:
- Cancer: 50 Essential Things To Do
- Breast Cancer Survivor’s Fitness Plan
- Dancing in Limbo: Making Sense of Life After Cancer
- The Breast Cancer Prevention Diet
- Ultraprevention
- Crazy Sexy Diet
- Forever Young
- Your Brain After Chemo
Websites
- Fuck Cancer - yeah!
- Crazy Sexy Life - Fun and inspirational
- Stand Up To Cancer - great source of resources
- Chris Beat Cancer - lots of great articles and ideas
- Angiogenesis Foundation - great info about angiogenesis (the process by which cancer grows)
- Healing Cancer Naturally - lots of great info, I particularly like the guided visualizations
I hope this helps anyone out there who’s looking for some starting points for more information. I’m truly grateful for the web and my amazing local library where I’ve been able to find most of the books I’ve wanted to read.
