Book Review: From Incurable to Incredible

I want to kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month by profiling a must-read book. Author Tami Boehmer is a courageous breast cancer survivor who offers hope, emotional healing, and inspiration in her book From Incurable to Incredible: Cancer Survivors Who Beat the Odds. This book features the true accounts of people from all walks of life who survived different late-stage cancers. 

Tami's story is also poignant. She was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in 2002 and eventually declared cancer-free, only to receive a diagnosis of Stage IV breast cancer in 2008.

After facing doctors whose prognoses for her were grim, she decided, with steely determination, that she was going to beat the odds. She searched for other late-stage cancer survivors who beat the odds and proved their doctors wrong. 

She first created a web site and then a blog that called for cancer survivors to share their stories. She also contacted the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which publicized her call for stories. The more stories she heard, the more inspired she became.

The result is her book From Incurable to Incredible.

I had the privilege of speaking with Tami, and her optimism and courage and zest for life were so infectious, I had to buy it.

And I am so glad I did.

From Incurable to Incredible showcases the personal stories of cancer survivors who defied the odds of their poor medical prognoses and went on to live quality lives. The stories are all so inspirational and interesting, that I could not stop reading them. The reader is energized and moved while reading each story -- from the woman with ovarian cancer who carried her pregnancy to term despite doctors' grim warnings to the man whose doctors twice gave him six years to live, but he is still alive 23 years later and running marathons.

There is a real need for this kind of literature. People diagnosed with late-stage cancer -- and those who love and care for them -- need a sense of hope. When doctors give patients grim diagnoses, these medical experts often deny these individuals hope.

From Incurable to Incredible can help so many patients facing difficult medical diagnoses, and I believe doctors should read this to get a better handle on how to talk to patients in these circumstances. In fact, an excellent foreward by Dr. Bernie Siegel says the book should be one that "everyone should read because it is filled with the wisdom of those who have confronted their mortality and let it become their teacher."

Tami is an example of grace, resilience, optimism, and tenacity -- even in the toughest circumstances. I also highly recommend her blog at http://www.tamiboehmer.com/. From Incurable to Incredible can be purchased at https://www.createspace.com/3435593.