What people are saying about Surviving the Cure: Cancer was Easy,* Living is Hard

Anna Pawlowska, MD

Director, Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell

Transplantation Program
City of Hope

Andrew Bundy's captivating memoir has an unexpected focus seldom explored in the story of cancer: survivorship.  
Complications that follow a bone marrow transplant can be brutal. Andrew invites us into the intimate, deeply private struggle of coming to terms with life after cancer - a time rife with frustration for a young man hungry for independence that feels out of reach. His devoted family provides the constant support he requires, but his life does not return to "normal" as quickly as he might have hoped. 
With humor and candor Andrew sends a powerful message about the significant medical and emotional issues that shape life after treatment and illuminates the critical need for programs that support young cancer survivors.
I first met Andrew when he was 18 years old and we decided to proceed with bone marrow transplant treatment. As his physician, I was deeply moved reading the entirety of his experience from this intimate perspective and am inspired by his resilient spirit. 

Andrew Bundy’s memoir, Surviving the Cure: Cancer was Easy,* Living is Hard, shares an important story for the childhood cancer community. While great progress has been made through more than 60 years of cancer research, much more needs to be done. For many children diagnosed with cancer, not only can the therapy carry significant and life-threatening side effects during treatment, the effects can extend years beyond completion of cancer therapy into survivorship. For some patients with leukemia who must undergo a stem cell transplant, the long-term effects can be especially severe. Among many messages contained in Andrew’s story, one is the clear need to develop more effective and less toxic treatment; patients deserve no less.

Peter C. Adamson, MD

Chair, Children’s Oncology Group

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Rebecca

AML Survivor

17 years in remission

Holy shit, [Andrew's] story is almost EXACTLY my own. And [his] thoughts and feelings. Gave me chills…It is incredible to know there is someone out there that COMPLETELY understands.

[Andrew] put into words what I was feeling. I'm in remission but will be on oral chemo indefinitely. I am a survivor, but the battle's not over. Life is not the same as before.