“You Have Cancer”
reveals how four best friends, who grew up in the same neighborhood,
went to the same school and the same church, suffered from the same
dreaded disease at the same time. It is about the experiences these
African-American men had in dealing with cancer.
According to the National Cancer Institute, African-American men
have the highest overall cancer incidence and death rates. We want
to share our experiences in hope of making more African-American men
aware of early cancer signs. We want to encourage them to make
regular doctors visits. We want to share our personal stories to
uplift and inspire cancer patients and caregivers. We want to give
information on resources available to cancer patients; we want to
show the power of prayer in the healing process; to show coping and
survival techniques to patients and caregivers; and, to focus on and
call attention to a disease that is a major killer of
African-American men.
“You
Have Cancer” presents the poignant and often overwhelming
experiences of real people. It shows how these men’s lives were
suddenly and dramatically changed by one sentence, “You have
cancer,” and the fear, anxiety, anger, sorrow, and depression it
caused in them and their families and friends. Why did these
childhood pals become ill around the same time?
“You
Have Cancer” will be one of the few available resources and
references for African-American men who have cancer. It will
educate and inform them. It will show the patients and the
caregivers the different paths these four men took in their fight
with cancer. The book will make them laugh; it will make them cry.
It will scare them, and it will make them rejoice. If they’re over
40, we hope it will encourage them to go to the doctor. The book
will be a book that cancer-patient survivors and caregivers will
read and re-read, will underline, and will refer to many times. And,
hopefully, others will read it
before it’s too late.
