Dec 16, 2023
First, I would like to acknowledge how brave Hilnama was for having the courage to share the intimate details of her experience with such a difficult disease. It takes a certain level of vulnerability to be able to talk about such things for strangers to read about.
This is an autobiography written by a manga author, who was diagnosed with colon cancer at the young age of thirty-eight. She talks about her symptoms at the beginning and how a regular doctor’s visit for stomachache gradually turns out to be much more serious than she initially thought. Throughout the book she is optimistic and the way
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she tells her story is so light-hearted that you can’t help but get hopeful. She talks in detail about her medical journey from the first day, her countless hospital visits and exams, her major surgery, her post-op recovery, and lastly her chemotherapy sessions and their many drawbacks.
As a doctor (an intern) who has been constantly working with patients in different hospitals for a year now, I have met many patients with varying ailments and illnesses, but for some reason, cancer patients have always intrigued me more than most. They always seemed kind and resilient to me. Although it is completely natural to be afraid and anxious or even angry when faced with reality in these cases especially when you are told you don’t have much longer to live or have to deal with the decreased quality of life due to such disease.
Being with patients almost every day has led me to sometimes be indifferent when it comes to the emotional aspects of having a chronic illness (empathy fatigue is very common in such a profession), so this book provided me with a wider perspective as well as aiding as a reminder for me to always be caring and considerate of my patients and their needs so for that I am truly thankful.
I was so sad to find out after reading the manga that the author passed away in December of last year. May her soul rest in peace.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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