Table of Contents

Part I: Why This Book?; 1. Survivorship Begins at the Time of Diagnosis; 2. Setting My Goals; 3. Getting the Most Out of This Book; Part II: I Have Cancer, Now What?; 4. Understanding Cancer; 5. Building Blocks of Cancer Treatment; 6. Initial Consultation; 7. Beginning Treatment; 8. Understanding What Is Happening to Me; 9. Disclosure: Who Do I Tell and When?; 10. Why Is My Team So Uncomplimentary about Complementary Care?; Part III: Make Your Plan and LEARN It; 11. Basics of the LEARN Plan; 12. Living; 13. Education; 14. Activity; 15. Rest; 16. Nutrition; Part IV: Just Finishing Treatment; 17. Just Finishing Treatment and Feeling Lousy; 18. New Challenges; 19. Medical Problems I Had Before Now Got More Complicated; 20. Hormones; 21. I'm Not Spiritual Am I in Trouble?; 22. Finding My Way Back; Part V: The First Three Months After Treatment; 23. Living Beyond Cancer: The First Three Months; 24. How People Treat Me; 25. Who Do I Call?; 26. Back into The World; Part VI: Three to Six Months After Treatment; 27. Living Beyond Cancer: Three to Six Months; 28. Fertility; 29. Giving Back; Part VII: Six Months and Beyond; 30. Living Cancer-Free; 31. Living With Recurrence or Relapse

About the Author

is the former Director of Cancer Supportive Services at the Continuum Cancer Centers of New York and the Associate Chief Medical Officer of Continuum Hospice Care-Jacob Perlow Hospice. He was actively involved in research focused on quality of life and symptom control in people with cancer, and serves on national committees dedicated to this work. Originally specializing in psychiatry, Dr. Fleishman's practice was focused on pain management, symptom control and palliative care. He is Board Certified in both Hospice and Palliative Medicine and Psychiatry/Neurology.

Reviews

features tons of questions presented in six major sections and 27 chapters, focusing on the patient's contribution to his/her own care. Patient stories appear in shaded areas labeled Consultation in a Box. The volume contains a lengthy section of worksheets, blank health records, even a bucket list.
Fleishman's system seems a plausible step in patient recovery, with cancer sufferers working to be the healthiest and as knowledgeable about their disease as they can be. The granularity of the questions is refreshing: What about nausea from radiation? Why do I feel so lousy?-Library Journal Express Reviews ""What does a person need to know to cope with cancer? The health section of bookstores and website are filled with ""how to"" books for dealing with cancer-from one or another perspective. But NONE give the pragmatic common sense approach that Dr. Fleishman provides in his Learn to Live Through Cancer book. He has drawn on his remarkable experience in oncology to answer the big questions like ""What can I make of my life now?"" But what is uniquely great is that he can just as comfortably describe what should go into a Smoothie Shake! Doctor Common Sense Fleishman has told it all! And, provided a model for coping and recording information you need to know and think you will remember-but we won't! At last, a truly practical approach to a complex and difficult topic!""-Jimmie C. Holland, MD, Wayne E. Chapman Chair in Psychiatric Oncology, Attending Psychiatrist, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center "" Cancer is a consuming journey and Learn to Live Through Cancer is a compelling traveling companion that offers specific guidance and support.""-Ronald H. Blum MD, Professor of Medicine, Director, Cancer Centers and Programs, Beth Israel Medical Center and St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center ""Dr. Fleishman has written an insightful, step-by-step guide to enrich the lives of cancer survivors and their loved ones. THE LEARN SYSTEM Model is a unique, can-do approach for cancer survivorship. As an oncology social worker and a cancer survivor, I wholeheartedly recommend Dr. Fleishman's book. It offers invaluable guidance and insight for us to live through the cancer journey ""-Dr. Carolyn Messner, DSW, MSW, ACSW, BCD, LCSW-R, Director of Education and Training, CancerCare, Past President, Association of Oncology Social Work ""Stewart Fleishman's THE LEARN SYSTEM puts important tools for living with and through cancer in the patient's hands. Reading it and practicing its easy-to-follow concepts will make the journey though cancer easier.""-Barbara Boughton, Freelance Medical Writer and Editor, author of Reduce Your Cancer Risk ""Education, as the thread for empowerment surrounds the reader throughout each chapter, enabling each individual to integrate their personal recovery journey. By recognizing that survival from cancer is spearheaded by a multitude of assists, the author surrounds the survivor with a variety of choices to achieve their goals. This instructive book supports and legitimizes the patient role as an advocate for oneself.""-Nancy Sokolowski, RN, Breast Health Specialist, Co-author The Breast Cancer Companion: A Guide for the Newly Diagnosed ""Finally we have an exceptional guidebook for people who have just learned that they have cancer and want to know the ins and outs of cancer treatment while maintaining good quality of life. Dr. Fleishman, an internationally recognized expert in cancer care, has long been the ""go to"" doctor for other physicians who have questions about cancer treatment effects. His 40 years of practical experience have been distilled in this book infused with his kindness and gentle humor.""-Mary Jane Massie, MD, Attending Psychiatrist, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York. Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York ""We in the treatment community have long seen the dire need for an easy-to-read and understand guide which can of true practical value to people who are fighting cancer today. Dr. Friedman has filled a much-needed deficiency and made an extremely valuable contribution in helping people with cancer deal with it in a manner that empowers them to maintain a high quality-of-life. He draws upon his long experience of actually treating patients with all kinds of cancer to help them with both the day-to-day and long-term problems they face. This is a valuable guide not only for the patient, but for the family and caregiver as well.""-Dr. Kanti Rai, Chief, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park, New York, Professor of Medicine and Professor of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine at Hofstra University