C LIST: How I Survived Bowel Cancer

Marketing director and single mother of two, Rachel Bown was diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer at the age of 45. With a taboo-breaking sense of humour, she here shares her experiences and lists that she made to help gain some control over what quickly became an unpredictable life. Funny and poignant she describes her battle with cancer and the often absurd situations she found herself in, from a brutally flippant surgeon to her latest fashion accessory, a colostomy bag, to embarking on a project to build a 40ft banana giraffe on the roof of her house. The second biggest cancer killer in the UK and USA, bowel cancer still has a shockingly low public profile. Rachel offers nuggets of information she has picked up from hundreds of sources to research her book, and includes questions you should ask your surgeon, the best treats while on chemo, things to look out for in a blood test and how not to react when someone tells you they have cancer. She covers all her ops, telling her children, coping with chemo depression, brain food, her lists and what a difference a year makes. She is a chatty companion who ends with a quote from the Bible, Matthew 6:34 'Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.' Nice layout, 242 page paperback.