Cancer Has Its Privileges: Stories of Hope and Laughter

by Christine Clifford, M.D. Clarence H. Brown III (Foreword), Jack Lindstrom (Illustrator)

Cancer survivor and founder of The Cancer Club, Christine Clifford has been sharing her inspiring, humorous outlook on living with cancer with thousands of cancer patients and their families. Now she has gathered a collection of battlefield stories and anecdotes from her fellow survivors that go from the outright hilarious to the downright moving, and combined them with her own personal story of triumphant survival.

158 pages, Paperback

First published May 7, 2002

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light and amusing read with funny little tidbits and stories by people who have/had cancer. I am thankful to the author for writing this book because the terms "light and amusing" and "cancer" don't often find themselves mingling, though I believe they should. As a Billy Graham quote in the book so aptly puts it: "A keen sense of humor helps us overlook the unbecoming, understand the unconventional, tolerate the unpleasant, overcome the unexpected, and outlast the unbearable."

The chapter How to Support a Friend or Loved One Who Has Cancer was worth the price of the book. If you know someone who has cancer and you don't know what you can do to help them, find this book and read that chapter. It's all too easy to avoid a cancer patient out of fear of saying the wrong thing or simply not knowing what to say. Find books like this one that will help you through your own fear so that you can put that aside and be there for your loved one.

[Jennifer Robb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book at a Goodwill store and since I'm a cancer survivor, I purchased it. The author, herself a cancer survivor, felt led to use humor in the form of cartoons. For this book, she also shares some humorous stories that others have shared with her. Though I didn't find anything "laugh-out-loud-funny" in the book, I did appreciate the funny stories people shared. I also thought the section with suggestions on ways to help and ways to let people help was very well done.

[Teresa Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though my treatment is over and I am a 3 year survivor the book was most entertaining and some things made me laugh that I actually did. You have to have a sense of humor to make it through a big struggle in cancer.

[RK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cancer Has Its Privileges: Stories of Hope and Laughter is a poignant compilation of thoughts, anecdotes, poems and "chicken soup for the soul" type of experiences by brave cancer survivors & their loved ones. This is the fourth book of the author Christine Clifford, a cancer survivor & founder of The Cancer Club, who believes in the therapeutic value of positive thinking & humor.

The book has tips for cancer patients, their family & friends on coping with the dreaded illness. Sometimes well-meaning well-wishers of a patient get disconnected not knowing how to help. There is a chapter on how friends & family can help. Some ways of showing care & support to the afflicted is by spending time together, accompanying them on their visits to the hospital, offering to help with daily chores, preparing meals, being a "nap nanny", gifting them their favorite books & music and complimenting them on their positive changes.

This is a good book for anyone whose life has been touched directly or indirectly by cancer.