Northern Lights: Summer Reading
It’s June, and the spring flowers have given way to colorful annuals and perennials, such as peonies, poppies, and delphiniums, in my garden. In addition, lilacs and crab apples are still in bloom. This is as close to paradise as it gets here.
After a busy spring of getting the lawn and flower beds tidied up and planted, it’s time to put out a lawn chair, pour an iced tea or lemonade, and find a good book to read. Summer reading has its own charm, especially if one can spend time outdoors.
Being an avid reader, I usually have stacks of books around. I have even started reading e-books on a tablet, which makes for easy reading while travelling. It also comes in so handy while waiting for appointments or while spending time at the hospital. Do any of you enjoy this new style of reading?
I have found that my tastes in reading have changed a bit since my myeloma diagnosis in 2009.
Some of the books I enjoyed since my diagnosis are related to cancer and other medical matters, since I wanted to know more about cancer and how others had coped with this diagnosis.
I realize that there are many books, both fiction and non-fiction, available about cancer, and that many of you may have done a lot of reading on the topic already.
On my list of suggested summer reading below, I therefore chose to review books that I enjoyed and that are perhaps lesser known in the hopes that you might enjoy reading some of them as well.
One of the very first books my husband Dilip and I read after my diagnosis was one that Dilip found in the medical school book store at the University of Calgary. We read it with great interest.
‘Treatment of Multiple Myeloma and Related Disorders’ by S. Vincent Rajkumar and Robert A. Kyle (Cambridge University Press, 2008)
This book is a collection of essays about different medical aspects of myeloma and its related diseases, such as monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), solitary plasmacytoma, and light chain amyloidosis, written by different experts in the field. Myeloma-related topics discussed in the book include diagnosis, genetic classification, staging and risk stratification, treatment of newly diagnosed and relapsed/refractory patients, autologous and allogeneic (donor) transplants, maintenance therapy, treatment of myeloma-related complications, and diagnosis and treatment of myeloma bone disease,. Although this book is now five years old, I think it still has a lot of helpful information, especially in terms of understanding myeloma.
The following two books are written from the point of view of a caregiver of a cancer patient. I received them at an event last November that raised funds for research into the environmental causes of cancer. The authors of both books attended the event, and I had a chance to briefly speak with both of them.
‘Wild .. from Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail’ by Cheryl Strayed (Vintage Books, New York, 2012).
Cheryl tells her own story of how she lost her mother to cancer when she was quite young, only 22 years old. Her mother, a 45 year-old vegetarian and physically fit woman, died, even though she had access to the best medical care available. This threw Cheryl into a tailspin, and her life became very dysfunctional. Eventually she decided to go on a long solo hike on the mountain crests of the Great Divide, from California to Oregon. Her story of the long hike and what she learned about herself was fascinating to me.
‘Up and Down’ by Terry Fallis (McClellan and Stewart, Toronto, 2012)
This is a fictional story of a young man whose mother is very ill with cancer. He changes jobs so that he can to be closer to her, even though his sister is actually doing most of the caregiving. One of the first projects he is assigned to at his new job at a public relations firm involves designing a contest to find an ordinary citizen to fly on a space mission. The winner of the contest is a lady in her seventies who lives in the far north of Canada and who seems like an unlikely candidate to be an astronaut. The young man goes to meet the woman who is able to demonstrate just how capable she is, despite her age. Fallis, who is Canadian, is a very witty writer, and the story is really enjoyable.
Also written by a Canadian, is the following collection of short stories:
‘Blood Letting and Miraculous Cures’ by Dr. Vincent Lam (Anchor Canada, 2005)
Dr. Lam, a practising Emergency Room physician, wrote a collection of 12 interwoven short stories about four young doctors, Fitz, Ming, Chen, and Sri. He follows their lives from getting into medical school, to their training in a busy emergency department at a major hospital. His characterizations are very compelling, and the stories he tells are harrowing at times. You could try just one story or read the whole book at once. This book won the Giller Prize in Canada, a major literary award.
I also enjoyed the following two interesting books about medical history:
‘Splendid Solution - Jonas Salk and the Conquest of Polio’ by Jeffrey Kluger (Penguin Books, 2004)
I thought I would include this interesting account of the development of the polio vaccine in the early 1950’s, since last month a story regarding myeloma and the measles virus went viral on the news. The book not only summarizes the science behind the development of the vaccine, but also delves into describing a bitter rivalry between two scientists, Dr. Salk and Dr. Albert Sabin. It’s a real page turner.
‘Dr. Folkman’s War’ by Robert Cooke (Random House, 2001)
Dr. Judah Folkman spent nearly 40 years studying a theory he had that cancer cells were nourished by nearby blood vessels. He termed the process ‘angiogenesis.’ A greater understanding of angiogenesis led to an amazing discovery that most of us myeloma patients have benefited from -- namely, that the process of cancer cells being nourished by nearby blood vessels could be reversed by immunomodulatory agents, such as thalidomide (Thalomid).
According to the book, Dr. Bart Barlogie, a well-known myeloma specialist, was the first who tried thalidomide in myeloma patients, with startling success. Since then, additional immunomodulatory agents (Revlimid (lenalidomide) and Pomalyst (pomalidomide; Imnovid)) have been developed, but the principle remains the same.
Another problem in cancer treatment that Dr. Folkman worked on was how to administer chemotherapy continuously, rather than at very large and debilitating doses. So maybe this book is a ‘must read’ for us myeloma patients.
And finally, I have a suggestion for some lighter reading. Since I spend a lot of time with our ‘grand puppy,’ the following book caught my attention when I saw it at the library.
‘What A Difference a Dog Makes’ by Dana Jennings (Doubleday, 2010).
The author describes how helpful his little 12-year-old miniature poodle was to him as he was undergoing chemotherapy treatments for prostate cancer and his son was suffering from liver disease. It is a sweet, humorous book about his family life at that time. Did the dog care that the author had no hair?? Of course not….
I hope that this list inspires you to do some summer reading.
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The quotation for this month is from Carl Sagan (1934 - 1996), an American astronomer and popular science writer, who said: “Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people, citizens of distant epochs, who never knew each other. Books break the shackles of time, proof that humans can work magic.”
Nancy Shamanna is a multiple myeloma patient and a columnist at The Myeloma Beacon. You can view a list of her columns here.
If you are interested in writing a regular column to be published by The Myeloma Beacon, please contact the Beacon team at .
Nancy,
This is a very interesting article. I, like you, like to read. I recently read a book I enjoyed called The Fault in Our Stars. I do not normally like romance novels and teen books but it interested me because it was about teens with cancer. In the end I did not see it so much as a romance novel as a book about relationships.
It is interesting that you mention the book about the polio vaccine. When I was growing up, polio was almost epidemic in the summer in our town. When the Salk vaccine came out my family was all vaccinated. I also read a lot of articles regarding mm. I want to know as much as possible about this disease I have. Some of that can be fascinating and some scary. You really have to know how to pick sources that are reliable.
Thanks Joyce! I just put the book 'The Fault in Our Stars' on hold at the public library. We have a really good library system here. Usually I find out about books by someone recommending one!
I too have met people during my lifetime who are survivors of polio, so I found the book 'The Splendid Solution' to be very interesting, and it is also well researched.
Nancy,
Great topic. You hit on one of my favorite subjects. I too love to read and have been thinking about a list of "cancer lit" books which are worth reading. A couple of other suggestions; The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee, Books by Jerome Groopman: The Anatomy of Hope, How Doctors Think and Your Medical Mind. Also, before his fall from grace, I was a big fan of Lance Armstrong's It's Not About the Bike. I must have been give a half a dozen copies when I was first diagnosed. Still a good read, although it doesn't ring as true now.
Would love to hear others suggestions. Enjoy
Ditto what Arnie said: The Emperor of All Maladies. Loved Wild; read it when it came out. I'd add to the list The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe.
Thanks April and Arnie for your comments and suggestions too. I have read 'The Emperor of All Maladies' and it was like a history of cancer treatments as I recall. I should revisit it I think. Haven't read 'The Anatomy of Hope' but will try to find that, did read also 'Not About the Bike', way before I knew I had cancer! I didn't know much about cancer then, but it's a shame that Lance was using blood transfusions for purposes of athletics, not medical reasons, nest-ce pas?? I always think that living at a high altitude helps the blood improve its hemoglobin, and I know that pro cyclists train in very high mountain areas. Even here, in Calgary, at 3700 feet, where I live, we can feel the rush of energy when we go down to sea level occasionally! We refer to it as 'the high altitude advantage'! I would also like to read about your list of books on the topic of cancer, Arnie.
April, my Mom was reading 'The End of Your Life Book Club' for her book club. I will try to find that too. Apparently it is about a mother and son who are talking about books they are reading together, at the end of her life, if I am not mistaken. She thought it to be a good read.
I wouldn't have read 'Wild' if I hadn't gone to a fund raising cancer event featuring authors here. It was nice to chat with Cheryl Strayed, and hear her speak too. She is very forthright and exudes warmth. I told her about writing for the Myeloma Beacon of course! She autographed my copy of the book with 'Nancy - Stay Wild' (!). She probably writes that in everyone's book!
Hey ... are you guys thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?
Seriously!!!
Maybe a new section in the Forum? A ***BOOKCLUB*** section for members who might want to read and discuss previously agreed upon books of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, etc?
I think that those of who enjoy reading could find it VERY therapeutic.
Any interest, my fellow, TMBers?
S.
Steve, maybe you could start a thread on 'book club' and post a book you like? Then any of us who had read it could post comments too. Maybe you should post it and ask everyone to wait 2 -3 weeks so that others could read the work, so as not to spoil the ending for others (if it were fiction).
Not sure ... book clubs are very popular though. The one I am in is a 'book exchange' club. We read 6 new books a year, which we rotate through the group of 6 members. We only pay about $20 a year to read books that way, and everyone has one to keep in April ... it goes October to April, but we skip over the month of December. But when we have our meetings once a month we actually don't speak too much about the books, in case of just that reason ... don't want to give away the plot! Thus I am used to describing books but not in great detail.
Anyways, sounds like a good idea! (I know that my book club is not typical, but I have been in it for well over 20 years, and I like the other women in it ... we just keep on reading new books every season!)
Hi Nancy,
Great column, as always! Love the list and the ideas of a book club. As an avid reader my whole life, I can relate to how life changes will have an effect on your reading.
A reading suggestion for you is "East of the Mountains" by David Guterson, a fictional account of a physician's life journey after being diagnosed with advanced colon cancer. I read it years before my MM diagnosis and really enjoyed it. You know, maybe reading it again now would be interesting now that my life journey includes fighting myeloma. Hmmmm ... you've given me food for thought.
Hope to see more reading suggestions and maybe a 'book club'. Sounds terrific.
Everyone here who is interested in starting up a kind of book club in the forum is welcome to do so.
Before we create a dedicated area in the forum for "book club" discussions, it would be useful to see how popular the idea is. So our suggestion would be to initially create a "virtual" section of the forum for a book club by just given all new discussions related to the book club a consistent starting topic description -- perhaps something like "Book Club - [Rest of the topic description]".
If you do this, you will be able to find all the book club discussions by just doing a search from the forum search box on the keywords "Book Club".
So, for example, if you'd like to have an initial discussion about how the book club might be organized and run, just create a new discussion (probably in the general "Multiple Myeloma" part of the forum" with a title such as:
Book Club - How should we run it?
and the initial posting could put forward ideas about how the book club might be run.
Later, when specific books are discussed, the discussions related to the book might have titles like:
Book Club - The Emperor of All Maladies
If it becomes clear that the idea is a popular one, we will create a new part of the forum specifically for the book club, move all the existing book club discussions into it, and even edit out the "Book Club -" prefix in all the existing discussion titles.
Thanks Gary for your kind comments and now I have another book to put on hold at the library! The librarians at my local branch are used to me reserving books actually ...
Beacon Staff, I put a notice in the Forum about a 'Book Club', as you have suggested (link to notice). Initially we should just see how many would be interested, and then we could pick a first book, maybe by having a list and getting a vote on which book to start with. We could set July 1 as our start date, hopefully, and then let everyone who is interested read the book. Discussion could begin on August 1, but by the last week of July, we should pick the second book. Just from talking with friends who are in other book clubs than mine, I know the members pick the books ahead of time and then look for a copy -- at the library, borrowed or bought. Books should be available to all, and I don't know what is in anyone else's library!
This would all be open to any reader of course, and the only stipulation I could think of to start with would be not to discuss the book online before the start time so as to give the others a chance to read it.
I'm in. I love book clubs. I'm in one online, and it gives me a chance to read stuff I wouldn't ordinarily read.
Thank you Nancy for a great article about an important topic. You sure stirred up a great discussion too!
I have to throw in my recommendation for a great book that has been the most inspirational for me on my three year MM journey. It is little known: "Enjoy Every Sandwich" by Lee Lipsenthal MD. He was an internist trained in the prevention of heart disease and integrative medicine. He was only in his early 50's when he was diagnosed in July 2009 with esophageal cancer, despite being a non-smoker. His approach to dealing with his disease has been a model for me. It is subtitled "Living Each Day as if it Were Your Last". He passed on soon after my diagnosis. It will definitely stretch your outlook on life. As he says, you have to be ready to die to embrace being alive.
When we don't know if we have weeks, months or years left, we learn to surrender to a Higher Will.
Plans for the online book club that people have suggested in the comments above are moving ahead swiftly. There's been a discussion in the forum about the book club (link), and there's now the first of two polls that will be used to select the first book to be read and discussed by the club (link to poll).
The poll that's currently ongoing will run until this Thursday around midday (Eastern Time). It will be followed by a second poll that will finalize the selection of the first book.
We've added to the first poll the book that Jan suggested ("Enjoy Every Sandwich").
Great Christina ... so glad you are joining the book club. Since you are already in an online club, you will probably have insights as to how they work too. Is it a general discussion that you have in your online club?
Nice to hear from you Jan, and hope all goes well with you. Thanks for the suggestion and I see that some have already voted for it. I will try to locate 'Enjoy Every Sandwich' also! Pinwheels, baguette sandwiches, clubhouses, wraps ... there are so many differing sorts of sandwiches and they are all tasty too. (I think that the title is probably metaphorical though). I sure try to appreciate every single day too.
MB Staff, thanks for all your efforts in setting up a book club. I am sure we will all enjoy reading the books and commenting on them in a forum too. One great aspect of my book club is that I have read many authors' books that I wouldn't have picked out on my own, and that is interesting. I usually alternate reading a book club book with a book I have picked out myself, to keep a balance in my reading. I think I will be doing some great summer reading this year!
Nancy,
I've always found books to be a refuge and, of course, more so with a cancer diagnosis. Truly, "one can always read." These are all great titles and I'd enjoy joining the online book club. There is a book that is getting a lot of attention called "Radical Remissions." An integrative oncologist, Dr. Kelly Turner, completed her Ph.D by travelling the world to find cancer patients who survived against all odds. Of course, we shouldn't quit medical care, but hope is always good. Thanks again, Nancy for a wonderful, uplifting column.
Sue Witcher
Thanks Sue, I am going to start a second list of books too, in case there is another poll. I think that you might have found 'Radical Remissions' at Wellspring in Calgary, a centre dedicated to cancer patients. You were featured in an interview about Wellspring in 'Leap' magazine this month. ' Leap' is a publication from the Ablerta Cancer Fdn. I really enjoy working with you on committees, Sue, currently for our walk/run on July 26. I think that the book club here will be really interesting, and I look forward to reading everyone's comments starting in August.
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