Tea & Chemo

BOOK REVIEW

I feel like Jackie Buxton is a part of my life.  This last year I have dipped in and out of her best selling, award winning book; listened to her radio broadcast; followed and communicated with her on Twitter.  What a lovely and remarkable lady.  I think that of all women going through breast cancer treatments and about others that have had other life changing health issues.  We woman are NEVER the weaker sex.  Men I know too have endured stem cell treatment, liver, prostate or bowel operations, radio and chemotherapy.  They bravely fight back when cancer attacks.

 

Tea & Chemo has been my bible for 2017.  I needed to know stuff I’d rather not know - stuff I didn’t want to ask anybody about but needed to be informed.  In other situations I have always turned to books and when some kind young man gave my daughter a copy of Tea & Chemo, I promptly ordered it as well.

 

I read a chapter at a time, finding out what I needed to know to support my daughter in the process of BC.  You will probably have read Breast Cancer for BC but for me BC equals B***ard Cancer.  Anyone who has been affected by others close to them having the most dreaded disease will understand. 

 

The book is written in a positive light although not hiding the truth of the awfulness either.  It is one woman’s story, one woman’s experience and yet there are many common elements to all breast cancer survivors’ stories.  Yes, I know others stories too.  My friends are 15, 13, 3 and 2 years down the line but I wasn’t involved in their journey like I was with my daughter.
 

I felt Jackie was writing like my daughter would, with positivity and humour.  How I wished I had the gift of humour in such dire times, I think my chuckle went out of the window at the first hurdle.  This book lightened the load.  It was affirming that all would be well.  It reassured me that someone else knew exactly what was happening, someone who was indeed ‘holding my hand’ through the process.

 
As the ‘dust’ settles in the ‘after treatment’ phase I intend to dip in again because although I want to put the experience behind me I don’t want to loose the gems that were hidden in the fog of my brain through the first reading. 

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book for anyone going through Breast Cancer treatments, anyone who is married to, parent of, best friend of, work colleague etc.  Don’t go to the internet as is so easy to do these days but sit with a cup of tea or coffee and be still and calm to read it.  My guess is you will not manage it all in one sitting; if you are closely involved with someone going through it you will not be emotionally strong some of the time and the words will just be a blur on the page but when you have time, read, digest and learn so that your loved one, friend, colleague can draw reassurance from your knowledge and understanding.  Buy them the book – there will be plenty of ‘stay in bed’ days for them to dip into it too.

Well done Jackie.  Keep fighting the good fight with all your might, and with a brilliantly positive attitude and good humour.   If there is to be a follow-on book I’m sure that will be a huge success too.

 

Footnote : if you have read this review you may like to scroll down to the next one as it relates to the subject matter - Split Second by Sharon Rose is a play about how life can change in just a moment.