Copyright
The advice in this book is designed to complement medical advice. Always consult your doctor. The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any techniques as a form of treatment for physical or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any information in this book for yourself, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your action.
Thorsons
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First edition published in Australia 1984
Revised edition published 2001
Second revised edition published 2004
Third revised edition published 2013
First published in the United States by Tarcher/Penguin 2015
This UK edition published by Thorsons 2015
FIRST EDITION
© Ian Gawler 1984, 2001, 2004, 2013
Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2015 Book design by Tanya Maiboroda
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
Ian Gawler asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
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Source ISBN: 9780008117603
Ebook Edition © JANUARY 2015 ISBN: 9780008117634
Version: 2015-01-05
This edition is dedicated to the health, healing and well-being of all who read it. May you all live long and happy lives!
Introduction
The Big Picture
What Is Possible and How
It is a great feeling to have recovered from cancer—to have been through it all and to be living a full, happy life again. I have done it. I have seen others do it and know many more will repeat the process in the future. This book, then, is offered with a sense of excitement and joy—the joy in having done it and the excitement of being able to help others to do it.
We all share a common goal. We all want to enjoy good health along with long, happy and meaningful lives. And we can. However, when a diagnosis of cancer comes into a family, all this is severely threatened. There is the real threat of life cut short, along with fear, distress and potential suffering.
Good news. We can turn all of this around. I have done it myself and I have seen many, many others do it as well. You can conquer cancer. That is a fact. It is possible. There is a process by which you can combine your own resources with those of the medical and allied health professions so that you can transform the experience of cancer and recover. This book examines the patient’s role in disease and healing. It is intended as a self-help manual that provides the signposts along the path to well-being and long-term health.
Currently, of all the people diagnosed with cancer, Western medicine helps around 65 percent to be alive five years later. For someone whose prognosis predicts they are likely to be in that 65 percent, this approach will mobilize your own inner resources, along with those who support you, and give you every chance of becoming a long-term survivor.