Don Spears, a New Orleans native and a 22-year-cancer
survivor, helped four African-American male friends of New
Orleans tell their story in a memoir, You Have Cancer: A
Death Sentence That Four African-American Men Turned Into
an Affirmation to Remain in the "Land of the Living." At a
time that could have been viewed as the darkest moment in
these men's lives, they took a stand against this dreaded
disease and penned their story in order to shine a
spotlight on the devastation that cancer is causing in the
African-American community.
It is too often that when a patient hears the words, "You
have cancer," the patient gears his or her mind toward the
"DEATH SENTENCE" without thought of an appeal—but not
in the case for these four men.
You Have Cancer reveals how four best friends grew up in
the same neighborhood, went to the same school, went to the
same church, and suffered from the same dreaded disease at
the same time—cancer. Black men seldom speak about
sickness. These four friends (Ronal Bazile, Ellis Brossett,
Preston Edwards & Benjamin Priestley) re-forged their
friendship and leaned on each other's shoulders for
strength. They affirmed to each other to fight this disease
together and to not become scared to death.
Timing is everything when it comes to a life-saving
message. And the time for this topic is now! The America
Cancer Society estimates there would be 152,900 new cancer
cases among African-Americans in 2007 and 62,780 cancer
deaths. These men believe that 62,780 preventable deaths
are unacceptable. We are talking about somebody's father,
brother, husband, child who didn't have to die.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death. It is time to
take the Big "C" out of the closet and expose all of its
mysteries. The following are a few facts about
African-American men and cancer:
1.) African-American men have the highest cancer incidence
and death rate.
2.) While the American Cancer Society recently reported
that death rates from cancer have been declining, the
cancer death rate is still 38 percent higher for
African-American men compared to white men.
3.) African-Americans have the shortest survival rate of
any race or ethnic group.
With the double whammy of awareness and action, we can beat
cancer now! The authors state, "We share our deeply
personal experiences with the hope of saving lives by
encouraging other African-American men to be proactive via
visiting their doctors for regular checkups and cancer
screenings.
This is not a pity-party book, but instead, it's a book of
stories that will uplift and inspire cancer patients to
"dance," rather than to sit it out. It provides coping and
survival skills for their caretakers and their loved ones.
This book provides the latest information and resources to
combat cancer. Believe me, this is not a book you want to
miss.
----------------------------------------------------
Dr. Rosie Milligan, counselor, author of 14 books, and
owner of Express Yourself Bookstore and Milligan Books
Publishing, 323-750-3592, e-mail: Drrosie@aol.com, Web
site: http://www.Drrosie.com
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