Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #157538 in Books
• Published on: 2005-07-14
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Synopsis
Last November, Deborah Hutton discovered that the irritating cough she had had for two months was no trivial chest infection but in fact an aggressive carcino-adenoma that had already spread well beyond her lungs...What struck her, as she struggled to cope in the weeks following, was how difficult it was for everyone around her to deal with her news. They all wanted to help, to say the right thing. Yet somehow, all too often, their best attempts at kindness proved more debilitating than comforting. The grim reality of cancer is that life, with all its myriad demands, continues: the dog still needs walking, the daily meals need preparing and dishing up. "What can I do to help?" you ask. Well, stand by, because the answer is: plenty.

Customer Reviews

Useful and Eloquent
Deborah Hutton has Stage IV lung cancer, and as she points out there is no Stage V. That is not the most important thing about her. What is important is that she has used her experience to produce a book that is clear, inspiring, and answers the question that all who have ever had a friend with cancer ask themselves. From diagnosis to treatment to eventual outcome, good or bad, she offers ideas about what to say (do gossip, don't talk about your own back pain), what to do (do offer to cook meals, don't shrink away), and where to go for more information. What I found best was the way that personal experience was mixed in with practical advice, so that the advice was always related to particular needs. There are contributions from celebs from Jade Goody to Cherie Blair, but it's the directness of Hutton's own writing that grabs you most of all. A brilliant, useful and eloquent book.

An intensely useful and practical help manual
Deborah Hutton has written a book that is a must for any family faced with cancer, based on her own experience and those of others', including a number of celebs. This is not a mawkish or sad book: rather, it is an intensely practical guide of how relations and friends might help the person living with cancer and his or her family. It is uplifting and to the point. Worth every penny and the royalties go to the Macmillan cancer charity.

A great guide to helping cancer patients and carers.
I've just finished reading What can I do to help?, and it might seem like a strange thing to say, but I really enjoyed it! It's a collection of specific things to do for cancer patients and their carers that will help them through what might be a very tough time.

What gives it it's special qualities is the structure of the book. The author, Deborah Hutton, was diagnosed with lung cancer that had spread to her bones. Her experience of the shock of diagnosis and everything that followed forms the central theme of the book. Interspersed with her experience you get the 75 practical ideas and snippets of from a wide range of sources who've been in similar cirumstances; including Hugh Grant and Tony Benn. The result of this collage of ideas and anecdotes is a book that is easy to read, practical, humorous and in places very moving.

All the advice that is given is sensible and accommodates the wide range of reactions to cancer from different people. Some of the tips won't apply to all cancer patients or carers, and the author reminds you that you'll have to use your own good judgement about what do and when, but if you'd like some hints, tips and perspectives this is a great place to look.