The Emperor of all Maladies

The Emperor of All Maladies....My dad gave me this book for Christmas.  It is a biography of cancer.  Kind of odd, I know, he wrote that inside the book.  I am guessing he bought it because he heard about it on NPR and my mom has survived breast cancer and he loves to buy hardcover books, really any bok.  But I have to admit I loved it.  Almost to the point of page turning book like.  It gives the history of cancer from the beginning, the first written mention of it, to present day interspersed with personal experiences the author has with patients.  The author recounts all of the research that has been done for hundreds of years.  He is an oncologist so he has had and is having lots of experiences.

I had to quit reading the book for awhile.  I guess it hit too personal of a note in Janaury.

For many years, I have followed the story of a little boy named Liam Witt who had Neuroblastoma.  Mostly because Liam's mom is friend of my friend Renee.  When Gretchen, Liam's mom, first started her charity Cookies for Kids' Cancer, I ordered cookies.  And I read her blog.  And I cried every time I read it.  Every time.  Whether it was good news or bad.  I cried.  I was amazed at her resiliency, Liam's spunk, her capacity to get up every morning, his ability to just keep on trucking through it and then Gretchen's ability to describe that all to me. And I guess it was all too real.  Liam was just a little older than Declan.  And you think...that could be...how can she live through this, how can she do this?  Through their struggle, I kept reading.  I kind of felt like I was supposed to, to be supportive.  I didn't know this family but somehow I felt as though every time I heard of their struggles, I felt more for them.

This past January, Liam had a scan that revealed that he was not winning his fight against Neuroblastoma.  I stopped reading the book.  It almost felt like a betrayal to be reading about cancer.  Kind of like reading a book about a celebrity who does something horrible.  Do you really want to support them by reading about them?  I was only about half way so I wanted to look up to see when they would mention Neuroblastoma.  I checked the index, only 2 places.  And really, they were just mentions.  There was no information in the book about Neuroblastoma, none.

Liam died January 24, 2011.  His mother is now pushing to raise 10 million dollars for research into pediatric cancer because so little money is being spent to find a cure or treatments for pediatric cancers.  Even through their grief, their most ardent wish is that another family not have to go through this.  And as you can see....they want to have 700 bake sales in May to honor what would have been Liam's 7th birthday.  So, if you feel it in your heart, have a bake sale.  It doesn't have to be big or small or earn tons of money.  Help this mother who so desperately wants to help others.