Faith Hope and Cancer

 

This story is written by a childhood cancer survivor who was diagnosed at an age that is already quite challenging. As a junior high school student, Carolyn discovered she had leukemia and her world was suddenly filled with the devastation that cancer brings. Imagine being a young teenaged girl with all of the awkwardness that has on its own, and then you go and add cancer to the mix.

Carolyn's ability to pull you into her story makes it feel almost like you're watching a movie on television. Her story is filled with pain, sickness, humor, and most of all, inspiration. She touches on every aspect of what cancer is like for a kid from enduring constant needle pricks to losing her hair to the torment of treatments. She touches on family life and what this journey is like for parents and siblings and even extended family. And she dives into the realities kids at this age deal with where their peers are concerned.

I found her stories about the medical staff very interesting. She encounters many great doctors and nurses who have a way of talking to kids and caring for them that is wonderful. But she also faces some cold and quite uncaring medical staff who somehow forget they have a teenager fighting for her life.

Carolyn's faith never failed during her war against leukemia. Each page is a reminder that faith and hope (and humor) can get you through the darkness, no matter how the story ends. And she does a good job of introducing the reader to some of the kids who didn't survive, but kept their faith and hope through their heated battles til the end.

In my opinion, this book is a helpful tool for:

Teens with cancer - Carolyn fills her story with ways she coped physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I believe that if a junior high or senior high school student is diagnosed with cancer, they will find her story helpful and gain some insight into how to handle a variety of challenging situations such as keeping up with their education, fighting the side effects, talking to their parents and siblings and peers, and ways to navigate the medical systems.

Parents - I believe this book would be helpful for parents of any child or teen diagnosed with cancer. For the young children who don't know how to express the way they are feeling, this book would be helpful to those parents to gain some insight into the way their kids are feeling and what they need. For parents of teens, it could help them understand the pain and mood swings which happen to kids this age when they don't have cancer at all, but is even a greater reality when diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.

Middle Schoolers - Kids in this age group have a hard time being empathetic. I believe that this book would not only help junior high school kids gain an understanding about cancer, but about any struggle one of their peers might be enduring. Remembering that you're not the center of the universe and that people all around you are suffering some kind of difficulty is a good reminder. Reading this story might go a long way in helping kids this age remember to be kind and not so judgmental.

Medical professionals - In most of today's children's hospitals (especially the ones geared toward cancer and life-threatening disease), doctors and nurses are some of the greatest heroes on Earth. They have a special calling that makes them fun and kind and loving and very patient with kids who are sick. However, not all of them have that adoring bedside manner. This book would be a very helpful resource for them to get inside the head of a teen patient fighting for her life. Remember to be gentle and explain what's happening to kids in this age group so they don't feel so frightened. Remember that this is a KID and be patient and loving!

I recommend this book to anyone who has a heart for kids with cancer and I honestly believe that anyone who is struggling currently with a difficult life circumstance would benefit from this book's reminder that we all face uncertainty, but we can and should keep our faith and hope!