Seriously-Cancer? I Do Not Have Time for This!

Book excerpt: Lauren Graham was three weeks away from turning twenty-one-loving college life, her friends, and her family-when her life was turned upside down and changed forever. She was diagnosed with cancer-specifically, with acute lymphoblastic lymphoma. In her memoir, Lauren considers the everyday life of a cancer patient and recalls all the challenges she experienced with humor and brutal honesty. Her unique storytelling, presented through the e-mails that she wrote over the course of nearly three years of cancer treatments, provides an intimate window into her struggle with cancer. Week by week, month by month, and treatment by treatment, she shares her journey and experiences in group e-mails to family and friends with wit, fear, stubbornness, faith, and candor. After recounting the procedures, tests, and general medical things she experienced, she ends each e-mail with several wonderful quotes, which offer as much solace to her as they would to those reading her e-mails. Seriously-Cancer? I Do Not Have Time for This! tells a true story of inspiration for anyone who is facing illness or difficulties in life. "Lauren is a real trooper who viewed her cancer treatment in such a positive, relatable, inspiring, and hilarious perspective. ...This book is a must read for all young adults battling cancer, for healthcare providers, and for families and friends supporting their loved ones during their treatment." -Brenda Muriera-Noggy, senior research nurse, Leukemia/Lymphoma Department, Division of Pediatrics, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center