October 2, 2015
Breast cancer survivor Mary Beth Eckersley was among the many people who were able to check out a living book recently at the Cancer Living Library here recently.
“A cancer diagnosis can be very scary and the abundance of information available online can be quite confusing,” says Eckersley. “Being able to sit down and talk to a real person about cancer is invaluable; it takes away the fear and opens up conversations, which are so important to have if you or your family are experiencing cancer.”
Seventeen living books, including cancer experts, researchers, patients and families, were on hand at the Calgary Public Library on Sept. 26 to be ‘borrowed’ by members of the public for face-to-face conversations. The living books shared their first-hand knowledge and experiences of cancer, covering the full spectrum of the disease.
The event was the first of its kind for AHS, hosted in partnership with Calgary Public Library and supported by the University of Calgary. The living books shared their personal and professional cancer experiences to help the public find answers and/or support as they deal with the impact of cancer in their lives.
Dr. Linda Watson, Lead Person Centred Care, AHS, was one of the living books.
“This was an opportunity for everyone to come together with a variety of experiences because you never know what piece of knowledge will make a difference to someone,” says Watson. “By creating opportunities like this to share diverse experiences and unique stories, we may just be able to hit the mark for someone.”
Dr. Watson’s book — I Am Surrounded! Surviving and Thriving When Cancer Is All Around You — tells the story of how she experienced cancer from three different perspectives: educationally through advanced PhD studies; professionally as an oncology nurse for more than 25 years; and personally as a family member to someone with cancer.
“Patients need lots of different care along their journey from us,” says Watson. “Number one in that journey is understanding the world they are in, what they can do to help themselves and where they can go to get that information.”
Dr. Watson was one of the living books borrowed by Eckersley during the event.
“The biggest thing I learned was that you can be healthy and still have cancer; how to manage it is the key,” says Eckersley. “I was able to get more information about my cancer and what I can do about it. And I was able to get it straight from the source!”
The living books covered a variety of topics related to cancer including research, diagnosis, treatment, post-treatment, end-of-life care and care giving. Patients, families, aspiring doctors and the like were able to spend the afternoon engaged in frank, face-to-face conversations about cancer.
“A cancer diagnosis is so much scarier in your head,” says Eckersley. “Talking about it out loud and getting as much information as you can from as many sources as you can is, in my opinion, the best way to cope.”
