Comments

I have received many comments from those who have read some of my thoughts. The following are just a few:

Sheryl L. Allen, Utah State Representative
Thank you for sharing your book with me. I wish it had been in print when my father was ill. It contains a lot of helpful information, but the overriding message is attitude, attitude, attitude combined with a large dose of courage. It's proof that sometimes the best man does win. So keep winning. And keep sharing your book with others.

Richard A. Bloch, Bloch Cancer Institute, Kansas City, Missouri
Thank you for your manuscript, My Home is in The House of Cancer. I took it home last night and went over it and believe it can be most helpful to cancer patients. I particularly liked your first page, The Magic Word. I am placing your book in our library so cancer patients may have reference to it.

Saundra S. Buys, M.D., Hematology and Medical Oncology, University of Utah Medical Center
It's very powerful and will be an asset for many people. Thanks for letting me be a part of this miracle.

John Conlee, Ph.D., L.C.S.W., University of Utah Medical Center
When I first met Bob, he had been diagnosed with colon and liver cancer and was given a short time to live. This grim prognosis only seemed to fuel Bob's spirit and inspire unshakable determination and commitment to beat the odds. I was just starting to use imagery with cancer patients when Bob devised a novel approach to visualization. Our collaboration comprised only one aspect of Bob's compelling journey. His book provides a down-to-earth account of how one man did beat the odds.

Jan Freeman, MD, FACS, Lakeview Hospital, Bountiful, Utah
Hope you are still doing well -- it was great to read your story. I'm always happy to be wrong in these cases -- wish I could be wrong more often.

Dr. James S. Gordon, President, Center for Mind-Body Medicine
I really appreciate the courage, common sense, and beauty of the work that you've been doing and the generosity with which you share it.

Kathleen A. Herlihy, Ph.D., Psychotherapist, Edgartown, Massachusetts
Your book, "My Home Is In The House Of Cancer" is heartwarming! The honesty with which you looked at your diagnosis and the surety with which the doctors confirmed the fact that you had but a few months to live truly touched one. In fact, throughout the book, you not only manifested your Will to live despite the prognosis, but a determined effort to pursue every avenue that might lead to healing!

Furthermore, by sharing your journey so honestly as you have in this book, you are bestowing a special gift of hope and perseverance to all those folks who may be confronted with a major health challenge!

Your inclusion of the poem "The Race" at the end could inspire each one of us to face life's challenge.

Ellen Hernandez, Seattle, Washington
I have leafed through "My Home Is In The House Of Cancer", and now started to read it. At a glance, it appears that you have distilled every self-help book I ever read into one short, concise, and plain-spoken missive. I think your approach could be used on any problem.

Marcella L. Keck, Attorney and Cancer Patient, Salt Lake City, Utah
I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your book. I have been reading many things, including Bernie Siegel's "Love, Medicine, and Miracles" and Rachel Remen's "Kitchen Table Wisdom". I had begun my spiritual journey some time ago, but felt that I wanted to go the next step further. So much in your book was affirming to me -- seeing in print conclusions I had reached and feelings I had. I read it over the holidays. It was a perfect gift for me.

Earlier this fall, a friend who is a recovering alcoholic told me that I would be bombarded with advice about healing as she had been bombarded with advice about sobriety. She, too, gave advice: Take what feels right and leave what doesn't. Your book does the same thing. It affirms each person's choice of path, but stresses the importance of a path. It seems to me that your diagnosis encouraged you to rally to life.

Benjamin Kim, M.D., FACS, Utah Cancer Institute, LLC, Salt Lake City, Utah
Just finished reading your working copy -- it's both provocative and inspiring. You are not alone -- maybe talking to some other patients will broaden and confirm your hunches.

Dr. Lauren A. Langford, M.D., Associate Professor, Neuro-pathology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
I had to read your book twice! The first time I read it quickly because I was so impatient to see what you had to say next ... The second time I knew what was around the corner and took my time to chew each and every word. Your book is one for all people, with or without cancer. Most everybody will have a chronic disease and we all need your approach. No, your approach is not unique, but you are one of the few who has the fortitude to verbalize and demand what you want from the medical establishment. You have the backbone and determination to persevere. (In some ways my husband is like you. He questions and expects the medical team to work with him). And if a person has just been told they have six months to live, then it is even a more fierce struggle to build a team. I like that word "POSITIVISTS"! Never will I forget it.

Tomorrow I will deliver one copy of your book to the Volunteer Office at the hospital and tell them what I think. The other copy is reserved for my family.

Margie Levine may have been the longest survivor of pleural mesothelioma in the world. She wrote "Surviving Cancer, One Woman's Story and her Inspiring Program for Anyone Facing a Cancer Diagnosis." She had developed 41 steps towards healing. Though she was told she had only months to live after she was diagnosed with the cancer she lived another 14 years. Margie died March 6, 2004. She remains an inspiration to many.

So much of what you did and how you feel remind me of what I did. We have so much in common. There is a part of healing that definitely comes from believing in your own wishes and strengths. It is going with your inner voice.

Rob McKown, Penrose, North Carolina
I just wanted to thank you for sharing your book with me. I finished reading it last night. It was inspiring, honest, and to the point. I was especially impressed by your lack of hyperbole or exaggeration. It was truly honest.

Susan Schulman, Project Coordinator, Huntsman Cancer Institute, Salt Lake City, Utah
I formally noted the existence of the Vandegrift hypothesis yesterday.

Dr. Harold D. Schutte, Weaverville, NC
Thank you very much for your kind thoughtfulness & generosity in sending my wife Margie and me a copy of your book on your bout with cancer. We both read it and were extremely impressed with your motivation to survive. Margie was very encouraged by it since she is recovering from "ovarian cancer". She has taken a similar approach to you in taking charge of her health. As a physician, I really have trouble with health professionals who set limits on how long some one is going to survive. You have done a great service to your fellow man by relating your experience through the book release.

Bernie S. Siegel, M. D., Author of "How to Live Between Office Visits" and "Peace, Love & Healing".
It's too bad we have to learn the hard way -- but you surely have and are filled with wisdom. You are the talented athlete -- who with coaching does get up and win the race. I am less concerned about the accuracy of your words than the truth of your message.