In Cancerland: Living Well is the Best Revenge
By Libby Znaimer
"Libby Znaimer has done a great service-not just to
women who have breast cancer but to anyone with health problems-in
facing up to her own illness with such courage, humour,
and intelligence. She dispenses both sound advice and encouragement."
- Margaret MacMillan, Distinguished academic
and award-winning author of Paris 1919 and Nixon in China.
When acclaimed Canadian journalist, broadcaster and radio
executive Libby Znaimer accidentally discovered a lump on
her breast, gnawing dread turned into what she calls “grim
realization.” One unseasonably hot May night, Libby
pushed away the bed sheets and accidentally grazed a never-before
detected lump on her bare breast. It was shock – she
had just had a round of mammograms that were green-lighted
as normal and healthy. In Cancerland: Living Well Is
the Best Revenge is Libby’s first-person account
of the often terrifying journey one in nine Canadian women
make, and how Libby chose to do battle with what she considers
a part of her life.
Libby’s is a no-punches-pulled, frank and insightful
look into the sequence of events that shaped her experience,
often written as they unfolded. Reactions and frustrations
are shared, from having to wait for an appointment with
a specialist after initially detecting the lump, to having
to make serious health choices once tests were confirmed.
Although there isn’t much room for sentimentality
in the telling of the events from Libby’s point of
view, she does write about the lighter side of living with
the disease; choosing a wig and even buying the “perfect”
gold strappy sandals for an event she wouldn’t miss.
She takes the reader along as she attends a social engagement
hours after being diagnosed, plays tennis the morning after
chemotherapy, and has to start a new job in the midst of
her treatment. She also dedicates an entire chapter to her
husband Doug, chronicling his reactions, concerns and constant
support.
It’s Libby’s hope that her memoir about dealing
with breast cancer resounds as strongly with readers as
her column in the National Post did, drawing responses from
over 1200 readers. One woman named Reena wrote that her
sister found a lump that turned out to be cancer , and that
she wanted to let Libby know “that my sister did her
self-exam because of your column.”
Pragmatic, practical and smart, Libby’s approach is
to get on with life and even live it to its fullest despite
the disease. This is a story of how to embrace life and
not run away from it while recovering from cancer.
ABOUT Libby Znaimer:
Libby Znaimer broke into print journalism with The Associated
Press in Tel Aviv, then carved out an illustrious career
in Canadian journalism, specializing in business, politics,
and lifestyle issues. She contributes to numerous publications,
including the National Post, where she first wrote about
her experience with cancer.
She also worked for two decades in television broadcasting.
After stints at Global Television, KSTP-TV in Minneapolis,
and WNBC in New York, she covered Parliament Hill for three
years then moved into reporting and anchoring daily news
coverage for ground-breaking television stations Citytv
and CablePulse24 in Toronto. She is currently Vice President
of News and Information at radio station Classical 96.3FM,
where she produces and hosts the daily The Zoomer Report.
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