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“My Angels Are Come” is a very personal memoir about prostate cancer, about the inexcusable patient privacy failings of a particular hospital, and about the most extraordinary group of health caregivers that the author has ever encountered.
The book takes the reader deep into the heart and mind of a prostate cancer patient – the author – offering remarkably candid insights into the emotional and psychological toll of a challenging treatment regimen. Written in journal format, the storyline of “My Angels Are Come” steps the reader through the real-life progression of the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.
The author foregoes valued personal privacy for the sake of sharing meaningful insights into every aspect of the cancer treatment experience. He delivers a narrative that is frank, bold, and information rich, giving a generous behind-the-scenes look at both the nature of the disease and the complex character of the caregivers who made coping with the disease possible.
That said, the style of “My Angels Are Come” is not that of a highly publicized success story in the face of adversity; quite the contrary, it is an almost quiet walk through the menace and fear of things cancer. And while the core subject of the book is indeed prostate cancer, the focus of the book’s narrative turns again and again without apology to the sheer radiance of those who reach to help, the outstanding nurses and radiation therapists of a small midwestern cancer treatment center.
An insatiably curious person, the author was fascinated by the state-of-the-art technology that surrounded him during his treatment program and freely shares his explorations of that technology with the reader. In the end, however, the truly life-changing experiences that remain with him to this day are not those of exotic hardwares and chemistries, but of people – always the people. His book is above all an enthusiastic celebration of the devoted caregivers who literally touched his soul and gave him back his life.
"My Angels Are Come" is a book primarily about prostate cancer and about the author’s compelling relationship with an exceptional team of health-care providers. However, an important secondary theme censures outright the flawed patient privacy policies of the host hospital, policies that resulted in what the author describes as “the most afflictive experience of my entire cancer ordeal.”
"My Angels Are Come" was cited in the Publishers Weekly summer focus on new trends in health care books (Aug 2008) and is the Award-Winner for the Men’s Health category in the National Best Books 2008 Awards.
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