The Impact of Illness

Since my family is going through the impact of a member going through cancer treatments, I've found The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch to be an inspiring and helpful look at the struggles he went through dealing with cancer, and his philosophy of life to be enriching. My mother-in-law is living with me now because she can't cope with every day things such as making food, or remembering her pills due to a run of chemotherapy, and even if another look into that life weren't helpful in the practical sense, it is invaluable in feeling like you're not alone in the things you face when going through it. There's really nothing that can adequately prepare you for dealing with cancer treatment personally, or helping a loved one deal with it. You can see others go through it and never realize the toll it takes on the entire family, the friction that can arise between family members in how to deal with the patient, the fear, the worry, the exhaustion of caring for someone going through the treatments. You do it because you love them and want the best for them, but you just don't realize how tremendous the impact will be. This is an inspiring book for anyone, but if you, or someone you know is dealing with cancer directly, it's almost required reading.