The Big J vs the Big C: Issues, Experiences and Poems in the Battle Against Breast Cancer

by Janine Booth

Poet, author and activist Janine Booth was part of the ranting poetry movement of the '80s, performing as The Big J. In late 2016, she discovered a strange indentation in her right breast and was subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer. In this collection of candid journal extracts, poetry, meticulous research and substantive politics, Janine details her journey from detection and diagnosis, through surgery, to "getting over it".

"This book is a must for all health care workers—doctors, nurses, students, caterers, cleaners, porters—the team needed by patients facing The Big C." (Dr Coral Jones, GP and chair Hackney South and Shoreditch Labour Party)

"A veritable paean to our (still free) National Health Service. Together with the added bonus of some fascinating political background and an insider's guide to terms. With poetry!" (Rhoda Dakar, songwriter, musician and activist)

"Open, honest, entertaining, informative, but most of all a bloody good read!" (Michelle Rodgers, RMT national president)

"I picked up this book expecting to be educated, entertained and amused. I put it down having ticked all of those boxes. The NHS is quite literally the best thing there is in the entire world. We must never stop fighting for it." (Kate Smurthwaite, comedian and activist)

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Published October 1, 2020

About the author

Marxist, trade unionist, socialist-feminist, author, poet, speaker, tutor, former RMT Executive member.

She was part of the ranting poetry movement in the 1980s, she performed poetry under the name The Big J.