The Award-Winning Essential Book about Dealing with Cancer The emotions surrounding cancer are universal—we all want to continue living. But with a cancer diagnosis, a new entity has entered many lives, and whether patient, caregiver, friend, relative, or adult or minor child, we can all use some guidance when it comes to a disease that strikes fear in us. That’s what this book is all about. How do you deal with those feelings of shock and powerlessness when diagnosed with a life-threatening disease? - How do you live with the fear of recurrence? How do you finally—but necessarily—let go of the cancer experience? - How do you break the news to a young child that their mom or dad has cancer? - How do you support a friend/relative who has cancer—avoid the subject or even the word? “Cancer has many complexions,” writes Shirley Ruedy, former columnist for The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “I explored them all. I went into dark places that people hesitated to talk about: I said it was okay to wish a beloved but terminally ill family member or friend would ‘go,’ to end the unremittent suffering, for them, for us, for everyone.” This book is a compilation of those beloved columns, the ones readers taped to their computer monitors, posted on refrigerator doors, mailed to out-of-town friends and relatives, and squirreled away in their billfolds. They wrote to Shirley from Iowa towns, from distant states, from foreign countries. Columns were posted in doctors’ offices and on hospital bulletin boards. The columns resonated because Shirley had been “in the trenches.” She wasn’t a columnist on the outside looking in, she was a columnist/survivor on the inside looking out. As a career journalist and three-time cancer survivor herself (breast cancer twice, and endometrial cancer), Shirley strongly believed what the public needed was a regular platform on cancer, a newspaper column devoted exclusively to the disease and the whole range of cancer experiences. Thus “Cancer Update” was born. During her column’s long run as a fixture and beloved must-read in this major Iowa daily newspaper, Shirley gathered 30 journalism, health and civic awards, and gained national attention. If you are dealing with any aspect of cancer, whether as a patient “insider” or a caring “outsider,” this is the definitive book for you. Honored with New Horizon Finalist and Grand Prize Short List by the Eric Hoffer Book Awards (2023). Buy your copy today and gift a copy to a friend with cancer. Connect with Shirley at www.ShirleyRuedy.com. Praise for Finally: A Manual on How to Handle Cancer "Cancer survivors, families and advocates have no greater champion than Shirley Ruedy. This compilation of her favorite columns is an excellent sample of her incredibly effective way of bringing hope to those dealing with cancer and great advice to aid in the prevention and diagnosis of cancer. She was particularly effective at goading recalcitrant legislators into seeing the light. As a cancer survivor and caregiver, Shirley will have you smiling on one page and wiping away tears on the next." Gary Streit, Former Chair of the National Board of the American Cancer Society "Shirley Ruedy's book is your GPS, the Rosetta Stone, to demystify the cancer journey. If you have cancer or are concerned about cancer, this book is for you and for those you love." Edward T. Creagan MD, FAAHPM Emeritus Professor of Medical Oncology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and author of How Not to Be My Patient: A Physician's Secrets for Staying Health and Surviving Any Diagnosis "This book is a must-have for anyone affected directly or indirectly by cancer. The columns touch on almost every emotional aspect of the cancer experience—patient shock, fear of recurrence, support systems, effective communication, tears and laughter. As a three-time survivor, caretaker, and tireless advocate in the cancer cause, Shirley writes with understanding, compassion and illumination." A my Johnson Former ​broadcast journalist, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Former Chair, Iowa American Cancer Society Cancer Advocate "When my husband, Nick, was diagnosed with prostate cancer we were in shock and floundering. We went to Shirley's column and found the best help we could possibly get. He lived for 22 more years, and died in 2020, of COVID. We were so grateful for the practical wisdom in Shirley Ruedy's column. This book will help countless readers." Anna Homan Cedar Rapids, Iowa FInalist, Informational Nonfiction, 2023 IPNE Book Awards Grand Prize Short List, Eric Hoffer Book Awards Finalist, New Horizon Award, Eric Hoffer Book Awards