Kim Thiboldeaux - Your Cancer Road Map: Navigating Life with Resilience

Contents

Praise for Your Cancer Road Map

While directing the series The Emperor of All Maladies, I was struck by all that we are learning about cancer at the cellular and molecular levels, and encouraged by the many exciting scientific advances we are witnessing. While this progress is cause for optimism, we cannot forget that thousands of lives across our country are disrupted by a diagnosis of cancer every single day. A disease as complex as cancer deserves a guidebook as comprehensive as Your Cancer Road Map. This candid, accessible approach to navigating cancer is the tonic every cancer patient needs.

Barak Goodman, acclaimed nonfiction filmmaker and director of Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies

Cancer has affected so many close friends and family members, and they are the inspiration behind my philanthropic commitment to the Cancer Support Community. Your Cancer Road Map puts in one place the gold standard of innovative, patient-focused services and guidance that I am proud to have helped expand across the United States and to underserved communities. It is truly a gift to be a part of such a transformative and effective organization.

Barbara Bradley Baekgaard, cofounder of Vera Bradley

Kim Thiboldeaux is a fierce advocate for people living with cancer. I have known Kim and have had the privilege to collaborate with the Cancer Support Community for more than fifteen years and applaud their evidence-informed approach to patient care. Your Cancer Road Map is the guide that every cancer patient needs to relieve the stress of diagnosis and provide guidance and companionship throughout the cancer journey.

Lidia Schapira, MD, FASCO, director of the Cancer Survivorship Program at the Stanford Cancer Institute

As a husband who lost his wife to stage 4 lung cancer, I vowed to honor her memory by changing the face of lung cancer and raising awareness about the challenges survivors and their families face. As a former NFL linebacker, I understand the importance of a game plan, so I am committed to increasing the visibility of vital resources like Your Cancer Road Map. This comprehensive book reflects the intensely personal nature of the cancer experience and is a necessary resource for anyone confronting a cancer diagnosis. There is no one better prepared to give guidance and insight than Kim Thiboldeaux and the Cancer Support Community.

Chris Draft, former NFL player and cofounder of Team Draft, an initiative of the Chris Draft Family Foundation

The Cancer Support Community, led by Kim for the past twenty years, has been a great friend and partner to American Indians here in Arizona. They have supported our work to care for cancer patients on the Navajo Nation and have brought countless resources to our patients. Your Cancer Road Map is yet another example of the high quality of their work and their commitment to ensuring ALL people impacted by cancer have access to the highest-quality, culturally adapted cancer care and support.

Lynette Bonar, RN, BSN, MBA, FACHE, CEO of Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation

YOUR

CANCER

ROAD MAP

ALSO BY KIM THIBOLDEAUX

Reclaiming Your Life After Diagnosis: The Cancer Support Community Handbook (2012)

YOUR

CANCER

ROAD MAP

NAVIGATING LIFE WITH RESILIENCE

KIM THIBOLDEAUX

BenBella Books, Inc.

Dallas, TX

The content of this book is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used as a substitute for medical advice provided by a physician. Readers are encouraged to discuss the topics in this book with licensed medical professionals. Patients should always consult their doctor or a health care professional about the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions including cancer, its symptoms, and the side effects of treatment. Likewise, it is advisable to talk with a health care professional before making changes to a diet or exercise routine.

Your Cancer Road Map copyright 2021 by Cancer Support Community

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

BenBella Books, Inc.

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Dallas, TX 75231

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BenBella is a federally registered trademark.

First E-Book Edition: June 2021

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020056662

ISBN 9781950665914 (trade paper)

ISBN 9781953295347 (electronic)

Editing by Jamie Kudera

Copyediting by Jennifer Greenstein

Proofreading by Christine Florie and Michael Fedison

Medical review by Craig Cole, MD

Indexing by IndexBusters

Text design and composition by PerfecType, Nashville, TN

Cover design by Faceout Studio, Molly von Borstel

Cover image Shutterstock / christographerowens

See interior image credits on .

Special discounts for bulk sales are available. Please contact .

This book is dedicated to all people impacted by cancer.
May you find strength, healing, and hope.

CONTENTS

G rowing up the oldest of five girls in a suburb of Philadelphia, I always wanted to be strong like my mother. She knew who she wasshe was kind, self-possessed, always ready with the right words to say, and never someone to be carried away by her emotions. I wanted to be the person who was strong for everyone.

As a teacher of writing, my students often confide in me. They call me when they are distraught, and share their triumphs. I have felt lucky to be strong for them when they needed me.

A few years ago, however, I had to tell my class that I would miss the next session for personal reasons. By that point in the term, we had all become close, and no one seemed to have any real filters anymore. They all began shouting, Where are you going, Dr. B.? I told them, My sister Jan is having a stem cell transplant. Today is her first treatment, and shell have to stay in the same hospital room for six weeks. Standing there in front of the class, however, I could feel my resolve break and I suddenly lost my composure. I had to pause, as the next words caught in my throat. I just... need to be with her.

I quickly faced the whiteboard so the students wouldnt see the tears filling my eyes. When I turned back around, every single student was standing. They made a line and came up to hug me, one by one.

Until that moment, I hadnt realized just how much I needed their strength.

Cancer has been a dark thread that has run through my life, as it has for so many Americans. In just one year, I watched four friends struggle with breast cancer. Cancer took the lives of both my parents. My sonmy brave, funny, bright young son Beaufought an excruciating fight against glioblastoma for over a year before we lost him.

Though medicine continues to advance and hope grows every year, there is still no word as frightening as malignant. No one should have to go through it alone. We cant; we need our community to support us. Thats true for families and caregivers of patients as well.