FACES OF COURAGE AND HOPE -16 Inspiring Stories of People Living with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia
A new book developed and published by CML Advocates Network:
'Faces of Courage and Hope' introduces the faces and cancer journeys of sixteen patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). Men and women of different ages, ethnicities and backgrounds, each share their unique experience in coping with life-altering circumstances and how they refocused their lives.
Sixteen CML patients from Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Macedonia, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and UK tell their stories; where they turned for support after diagnosis, how they have faced living with the disease and the ways in which their personal and professional lives have changed. This book tells their stories through photographs and personal interviews.
The book was conceived by two patients affected by chronic myeloid leukaemia as a way to support and encourage people as they adjust to the new reality of living with CML. Photographer Bert Spangemacher and patient advocate Jan Geissler know first hand how disorienting a CML diagnosis can be, but also how strength can be drawn by the sharing of experiences. It is hoped that the encouraging and uplifting stories and portraits portrayed in 'Faces of Courage and Hope' will provide inspiration for others to live a full life with cancer.
Jan Geissler says about this book:
"Living with cancer is sometimes like a roller coaster ride. More than 46,000 Europeans get diagnosed with leukaemia every year, of which more than 6,000 get chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). I became one of them in 2001, at the age of 28, and I suddenly found myself on that roller coaster.
A quick online search showed me that other people with CML were out there, forming grassroots patient networks. I soon got in touch with other patients like me. Everyone was desperately looking for information about the disease, about therapies and how to manage side effects, about new results from clinical trials – but mainly about how to cope and hope while having cancer. Everything seemed to have changed in my own life from one day to the next, but thanks to my link with the online community, I never felt alone.
Through my personal interest but also my involvement with the worldwide CML Advocates Network, I have made friends with cancer patients all across the world. What amazed me most was that everyone had a different story to tell, a different journey to travel, a different roller coaster to ride – but sharing those stories of hope and anxiety, of desperation and determination, of helping others and being helped, always gave me more energy than it took. By coincidence my path crossed with photographer and CML patient Bert Spangemacher. Working with him on this book has certainly been very close to my heart. While much is out there about CML and medicine today, still little is known about what having cancer does to someone’s life. This book not only takes you on sixteen different journeys, showing the ups and downs of life with CML, but also spotlights a broader truth: that living with cancer is no one’s choice, but refocusing on the most important things in life can actually be an unforeseen advantage."
Bert Spangemacher says about this book:
"After living with CML now for almost five years, I have my own story to tell and I wanted to capture other CML patients’ stories through what I do best, photography. Capturing the right moment, finding the perfect composition, and utilizing light and shadow is my way of communicating.
Each CML patient has changed his or her life in one way or another and has learnt to adapt to new circumstances. Perhaps they have used this incident to go on a very different path and to begin a new life. I want to support other CML patients and their families by sharing these stories of hope with them.
This book could not be possible without my partner, Leukämie-Online platform founder Jan Geissler, who found me by chance and invited me to the 2009 CML Horizons meeting in Munich, which influenced me greatly and led us to embark on the journey to make this book together.
A CML diagnosis is hard, but it can also lead to creativity, courage and love."
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The book will be available on Amazon for worldwide shipping from 22 September 2014 at 20 Euros
http://www.amazon.de/Faces-Courage-Hope-Inspiring-Leukaemia/dp/300046988...