Because Cowards Get Cancer Too

OFF THE SHELF

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“Because Cowards get Cancer too

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This month’s book was Because Cowards get Cancer too. Many of us remembered journalist John Diamond revealing his cancer diagnosis in his Times column. He was just forty-four, the husband of Nigella Lawson, and a self-confessed hypochondriac.

Hypochondria normally comes in two varieties. The chronic version, which turns every twinge into a cardiac event, every spot into a melanoma, every cold into pneumonia, is the worst because of the not knowing. By comparison, the acute version, in which a doctor with a real medical degree tells you that you do have some actual minor illness and that you can look ill when you tell people about it in the pub, is, in its way, rather cheering. But this is beyond those conditions. Nobody can tell me that the fear of being put under for an hour or so while they cut your neck open is an irrational one.

Diamond was the first journalist to take his readers on his cancer journey both in his column and in TV documentaries. His three-year cancer experience began with an optimistic prognosis, treatment led to remission and faith for a healthy future only for the cancer to return and his hopes of survival shattered. Light-hearted and even humorous in parts we found his story harrowing and disturbing and his fear palpable. An insightful but not an enjoyable read. We gave it 7 out of 10.