Our Library
We have many books on diagnosis, treatment, and
coping with cancer as well as Macmillan brochures.
News from the ESCA CancerSupport Library
Sadly, the Drop-in Centre remains closed until further notice, because of the ongoing Covid-19 situation. Ever since the Centre was first closed in March, Irene Bertrand and I have continued to search for and purchase new books, which you will be able to borrow as soon as the library is accessible again.
For those of you who are, nevertheless, searching for information and support, I would like to recommend the Macmillan booklets, which you may already have had the opportunity to look at in the past. The booklets can be consulted and downloaded as pdf files on the be.Macmillan website: https://be.macmillan.org.uk
I would also like to recommend two podcasts, which you might find interesting, although they do not always make for easy listening.
The first is You, Me and the Big C, which has been broadcasting for more than two and a half years. There are more than 60 episodes available for downloading. All of them are informative, some uplifting, others incredibly sad, but you can easily choose the ones which are of interest to you. Recently the presenters recommended a second podcast.
Goodbye to all this is an intensely moving account of the impact of a cancer diagnosis on the family of the presenter, Sophie Townsend. She describes it as “A story about losing the man you love and going on without him; about raising two girls through grief, being alone and surviving- mostly intact.” It is uplifting and heart-breaking at the same time.
Irene and I are very much hoping that the library will soon be open for business, and are looking forward to being able to welcome you back. Until then we send Season’s Greetings and every good wish for 2021.
Sandra Oakley
Welcome from the Librarians!
Our library, open and available for all:
patients, carers, volunteers, peer supporters, counsellors, therapists and more.
If you need any help finding information please contact us at library@cancersupport.ch. We are available to help you.
Irene Bertrand and Sandra Oakley, ESCA CS librarians
Our Catalogue
We have a collection of some 300 books in English at the Drop-in Centre to cater to the needs and interests of those touched by cancer. Books cover a variety of subjects and are arranged on the shelves by the broad subject categories listed below.
There are two lists to help you find individual titles: one is arranged by the subject and the other by the author. We also have books for children as well as a small collection of DVDs.
Come to the library to browse and borrow any one of them (see library procedures). Please feel free to recommend any titles you would like added to the library. If you are interested in reviewing any of these titles, please contact either Irene Bertrand or Sandra Oakley at library@cancersupport.ch.
Book categories:
- General Health
- Types of Cancer
- Nutrition, Holistic and Complementary Therapies
- Self-help
- Coping with Cancer
- Care and Families
- Grieving and Bereavement
- Life Journeys
- Spirituality
Book Reviews
Several book reviews written by members are available online for you to enjoy. If there is a particular book you are looking for, don’t hesitate to contact the librarians at library@cancersupport.ch.
Our Newsletters
We send monthly e-newsletters full of information about our services, activities, upcoming events and those of related organisations.
We have a collection of Macmillan Cancer Support brochures. This UK Charity develops publications specifically for people with cancer and their carers.
Among the various resources that we offer, we have translated into English and made freely available a guide, from the Hôpitaux Universitaires Genève (HUG), that provides patients, friends and family assistance during chemotherapy treatment.
Online Resources
We’ve also compiled an Online Resource list of reliable and up-to-date cancer information websites for patients, families and carers below.
Library Procedures
Books may be borrowed for an initial period of six weeks. On request, loans may be renewed for a further period of six weeks by sending an email to library@cancersupport.ch. Four books and/or Macmillan brochures may be borrowed at one time.
Borrowing Library Books
(1) Take the library card from the back of the book and enter name, date and telephone number.
(2) File the card in alphabetical order by name of author in the small file box marked LIBRARY BOOKS on loan.
Returning Library Books
(1) Take the library card from the small file box and cross out the name.
Return the card to the back of the book.
(2) Shelve the book according to the catalogue number or, if unsure, leave it on the table to be processed and shelved by one of the librarians.
New Books in 2019
A Beautiful Cure
Daniel M. Davis
One of the latest “buzz” words being heard wherever developments in cancer treatment are being discussed is immunotherapy. This book, written by Daniel Davis, Professor of Immunology at the University of Manchester, charts the history of how knowledge about the power of the human immune system has developed and discusses how harnessing this power has immense potential for treating cancer and other conditions such as arthritis and diabetes.
“Highly readable, beautifully researched, backed up with notes, references and interviews by Davis himself, whose status as an immunology professor confers added credibility. He believes that we now know enough about the major components and interactions of the immune system to begin manipulating them to cure diseases such as cancer. We stand, he predicts, on the threshold of a medical revolution” (New Scientist)
“Forget AI, robotics, the internet of things. This is where the future feels strange and exciting: in the ‘inner universe’ of our immune system, and in the radically new therapies that are using it to conquer disease” (Sunday Times)
General cancer: diagnosis, surgery, treatment [ 2 DAV ]
Let’s Talk Lymphoedema
Dr. P. Mortimer and G. Levine
This is a very useful book about the condition of lymphoedema which occurs for a variety of different reasons but can affect cancer sufferers who have had lymph nodes removed during surgery. It is more commonly recognised by a swollen arm after breast cancer but can also affect the leg after prostate or cervical cancer. The authors explain the lymph system, the causes of lymphoedema, diagnosis and treatment etc. Even already a decade ago women here are often offered preventive lymphatic drainage after a breast cancer operation. Nowadays there is more awareness in general about the illness and this book certainly adds to the dissemination of this knowledge.
NCCN Guidelines for Patients: Colon Cancer 2018
NCCN Guidelines for Patients
(National Comprehensive Cancer Network)
This is one of the excellent US NCCN series adapted from clinical treatment guidelines used by physicians and oncology professionals around the world. They are packed with the latest information, treatment innovations, and resources about diagnosis and treatment. Each patient-friendly chapter prepares patients and caregivers to talk with their doctors and make treatment decisions, including colon cancer that has spread to the liver or lungs, Follow-up care. : presents the recommended care after colon cancer treatment. Making treatment decisions etc and offers tips for choosing the best treatment. A complete glossary with dictionary and acronyms completes this book. This series in thoroughly recommended for an easy-to understand overview for patients.
Cancer: colon cancer [ N 2 co. NCC ]
Bladder Cancer: a Patient Friendly Guide to Understanding Your Diagnosis and Treatment Options
D. Pulver, M. Schoenberg, MD and F. Pulver
This book represents an amazingly effective collaboration between David Pulver, the patient and Dr Mark Schoenberg, whom he consulted as a second opinion, after being diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2007.
“They formed a partnership – not only to treat David’s bladder cancer but also to write a patient-friendly book. which combines expert medical information with a clear writing style.” For anyone diagnosed with bladder cancer, this is a really excellent resource, helping them to make informed decisions about their treatment options and enabling them to be proactive patients.
It addresses the questions, concerns and challenges which confront people facing a bladder cancer diagnosis and provides vital information for family and friends.
Essential reading for anyone facing a bladder cancer diagnosis.
Specific Cancers: bladder cancer [ 2 BL PUL ]
100 Questions & Answers: About Ovarian Cancer, 3rd ed.
By D.S. Dizon and D.Sparacio
100 Questions & Answers: About Prostate Cancer, 5th ed.
By Pamela Ellsworth
These are two in an excellent series of books on various specific cancers written for patients. They give a full easy to read background on “The Basics” of the organs affected, then go on to the symptoms, risk factors, diagnosis and staging of the cancer. Treatment details follow with possible complications and/or relapse. The questions are varied, and probably ones one wouldn’t have thought of eg what kind of research is being conducted to cure this cancer? (ovarian); How do I decide which treatment is best for me? (prostate)
Please note that the books are American which although doesn’t affect the medical contents, reflect the health procedures/situation in the USA.
Specific Cancers: Ovarian [ 2 O DIZ ] and Specific Cancers: Prostate [ 2 P ELL]
Way Down Inside: The Drive to Beat Ovarian Cancer
Gordon T. Walker
The author shares this story of his wife’s determination to survive ovarian cancer. Seuna’s experience with the disease is told in this honest and heart-breaking account of a journey on which no-one ever wants to go. Faced with an overwhelming range of complementary and traditional medicines, they explore the world of cancer treatments at home in the UK and abroad. The focus always remains on buying more time, time for his wife to see her two daughters grow up, and there is a sense of desperation in her quest to find a cure for what is termed the silent killer. This book is a tool for anyone facing a similar challenge.
Holistic and Complementary therapies [ 4 WAL ]
How to Starve Cancer
Jane McLelland
“Deborah James’s life with her husband and young children was thrown upside down at the age of 35 when she was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer.”
This book was featured on the inspiring and thought-provoking podcast: You, Me and the Big C. In this very accessible book, Deborah James will guide you through every twist and turn which follow a difficult diagnosis, showing “how you can still live your life and be YOURSELF with cancer.” She has been a co-presenter of You, Me and the Big C, since the outset.
Holistic therapies [ 4 MCL ]
Compassionomics
S. Trzeciak and A. Mazzarelli
Instinctively one knows the effectiveness of compassion in all levels of healthcare but this book gives empirical data to something that makes so much sense. This study is filled with stories, statistics and research supporting the positive effects of compassion. The authors use the terms health care and medicine interchangeably whereas the book probably applies predominantly to doctors. Nurses will recognise that compassion is already part of the framework of nursing education and practice. Although the subject is compassion in general, cancer patients will feel particularly concerned by the compassion shown to them by all health care professions.
Coping with cancer: care [6 TRZ]
Choosing to Stay
Mo Haque
As a young man in his early 30s Mo Haque didn’t expect to find he had stage 4 bowel cancer, but what he did afterwards is inspirational. From his work in personal development before his diagnosis the author faced his challenges in a meaningful and profound way.
When his treatment didn’t work the doctors said they could do nothing more for him. However by “choosing to stay” he started fundraising to help pay for further treatment under a clinical trial for which he wouldn’t be covered by the NHS. His book is indeed a great educational tool on choosing to live.
Life journeys [9 HAQ]
Melanoma: It Started with a Freckle
David L. Stanley
Marissa Henley is a devout Christian and her faith permeates her book. A cancer survivor herself she knows what it feels like and what your friend truly needs. She prepares the reader to support the friend with both knowledge and compassion, in a practical and spiritual way.
Life journeys [9 STA]
How I Defeated Colon Cancer: The Real Story Of A Survivor
Bulus Andrei Tudor
A very personal story of a young man describing his journey through colon cancer in his home country Romania. He emphasizes the importance of diet and use of supplements which he recommends.
Life journeys [9 TUD]
For Freddie
Rachel Bland
In 2016, broadcaster and journalist Rachael Bland was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast
Cancer. She took the decision to share her story, which she did, both by writing a blog and by
collaborating on the highly acclaimed podcast You, Me and the Big C.
When, less than two years later, she received the news that her illness was terminal, she was
brave enough to speak about this openly through the podcast and also started to write this book for her son Freddie, who was just a toddler when his mother learned about her illness.
“Having been told that she had only a matter of months to live, and still writing in what were sadly her final days, Rachael brings immense warmth, courage and humour to this heart-warming and heart-breaking story.” This book, part memoir and part advice, is her legacy and an incredible final gift for her son.
Life journeys [9 BLA]
Love, Interrupted
Simon Thomas
Any loss can be a shock, but Simon Thomas’s wife Gemma died just three days after she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia.
In his book Love Interrupted, the former Blue Peter and Sky Sports presenter tells of her final hours at the Churchill Hospital, Oxford, and how he had to explain to their son Ethan, that his mother had died. From that moment, every night they shared a “mummy memory”.
Thomas relates his previous struggles with anxiety and depression, which made dealing with the sudden loss of his wife an even more difficult challenge. However, throughout, his love for his young son has sustained him and given him the strength to carry on day by day. He has found ways to encourage other men experiencing bereavement to talk about their loss openly and to be less embarrassed to show how they are feeling.
Reflecting on the first year without Gemma, Thomas writes: Whatever life has thrown at us so far, and whatever may come next, I am determined to keep seeking the light and searching for joy….. I know that I must continue to find hope, enjoy new experiences and savour life again. I owe it to Gemma. And I owe it to Ethan.
Life journeys [9 THO]
Once More We Saw Stars
Jayson Greene
Jayson Greene’s two-year-old daughter Greta was sitting with her grandmother on a park bench when a piece of brick fell from a windowsill on the eighth floor of a nearby building and struck her on the head. The next time Greene and his wife Stacy saw their daughter she was lying unconscious in the emergency room of a nearby hospital. Within just a few hours came the realisation that their precious daughter would not survive and to create some meaning out of their feelings of desperation they decided to donate her organs.
Life journeys [9 GRE]