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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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A compelling and needed story
This is a well-written, moving narrative about one family's struggle with childhood cancer. The negative review for this book is puzzling, if not simply a plug for another book. It criticizes this one for not covering medical protocols in sufficient depth, which is unfair because the author does not purport to do that. I agree with the previous reviewer. A focus on medical details misses the forest for the trees. Protocols change, and are mostly the province of doctors. Which is not to say one shouldn't pay attention to the medicine and become reasonably educated on treatment options. But understanding the course of treatment is just one aspect of the ordeal, and not the most important when you consider the human beings involved. Hope, attitude, living and enjoying life; such choices are absolutely within the families' control, and they can make all the difference. Conveying that is the purpose of this gem.
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Wise and warm guide
Cynthia Krumme's book was not meant as a guide for parents about what kind of treatment to expect. Of course the description of treatment is out of date, but the treatment varies from year to year and from country to country anyway. Krumme wrote about how to cope with a very ill child, how to treat his or her siblings, how to enjoy life in spite of everything awful that was happening, and how to let the child enjoy it. And all this is timeless. It is best to get a description of treatment from the doctor who is dealing with the child and to read as much as possible about how other people coped with similar situation. And Cynthia Krumme is a very wise, warm guide.
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A heartfelt saga, but dated from a medical standpoint.
As the mother of a daughter with leukemia, I found this a moving tale of one family's struggle with leukemia, but for those whose children have been recently diagnosed (1998-99), keep in mind that the author describes medical protocols, procedures, even family activities that are out-of-date with current philosophy. Many of the family's experiences are no longer common or allowed by responsible pediatric oncologists. For this reason, the book may be misleading and inaccurate to some families. A much better guide to leukemia is Nancy Keene's book, "Childhood Leukemia."
