Shelly L. Francis

Damocles' Wife: the Inside Story of Cancer Caregiving & Long-term Survival in the Midst of Motherhood, Marriage & Making Life Matter Shelly L. Francis

"The truthfulness of this book by Shelly Francis will help identify the many emotional, mental, and spiritual phases of walking with another soul on earth whose body has been struck by deep challenge. It's the truth telling that readers in similar situations will resonate with." --Clarissa Pinkola Estés, PhD

If you've ever wondered how you might find the courage, hope, and faith to face the challenges of cancer and caregiving, you're not alone. Damocles' Wife reveals the inner journey of a cancer caregiver, a young wife and mother whose husband becomes a long-term survivor of brain cancer.

Follow their story, inside and out, through nine months of brain tumor treatment: neurosurgery, radiation, tumor doubles, second opinions, second surgery--this time awake--with photodynamic therapy, chemo, chemo, chemo, then high-dose chemotherapy with stem-cell rescue. Recovery...

Given a prognosis of two to five years, maybe ten, for his astrocytoma, Scott invoked his inner samurai to face aggressive traditional treatment, combined with integrative medicine like Healing Touch. Meanwhile, Shelly called on her inner resources, plus the rest of Scott's caregiving crew, so that she could take care of him, herself, and their preschooler son, Wil, and still be standing no matter what.

This is the whole family's story of learning to cope not only with the practical aspects of cancer and caregiving but, most essentially, how to really survive--in your soul. Join their journey as they learn to take down the Sword of Damocles hanging over Scott's head and finally embrace life with all of its changes.

The first caregiver memoir to address long-term cancer survival, Damocles' Wife will resonate with families facing cancer of all kinds, families dealing with chronic illness, disability, and dementia, as well as families of returning soldiers now facing life with traumatic brain injury. Damocles' Wife is a timely and poignant "case study" for policymakers and healthcare professionals because in April 2012, TEDMED named "The Caregiving Crisis" the #2 most important health and medical "Great Challenge" of the year.