Cancer the Haynes manual

It it helps people detect, live with, or fight the disease, good on ’em.
People need easy to understand information on all manner of heath issues, that need is huge when it comes to something as complex as cancer.

BTW: I still laugh about their sex manual I saw in a dealers stock of their titles at an all-UK cars show…stuck between the Reliant and Triumph books.

This book is quite a useful resource and is underpinned by sound research. Essentially it was devised by the men’s health forum as a way to get men to consider how cancer may affect them. Research shows that men have a higher mortality rate from cancer than women and much of that is down to the fact that they don’t attend their GP until it’s too late and so the cancer isn’t caught in time. Research has also shown that (in general) men liken their body to a machine and so the use of the Haynes type manual was felt to be a useful way of accessing men and providing them with the information in a “user friendly way”.

Unfortunately I haven’t seen any subsequent research to evaluate this but I do know that the Men’s Health Forum approached Haynes and they had the foresight to see that this was potentially a good idea and run with it. If only more companies were so enlightened.

As to your points about cancer – it isn’t one disease but many which is why people consider it complex. Each cancer is different in terms of causes, development and outcome. It does differ from person to person but each cancer also differs. It’s a common misconception that cancer is one disease and also that its progress and symptoms will be the same for all people. There are so many different factors to consider (such as genetics and lifestyle factors) that it is difficult to compare treatments between people. What I would say though is that the medics will have the most up to date research and findings and that they are the best people to listen to.

Cancer Haynes Manual
By Dr. Ian Banks, published in co-operation with the Men’s Health Forum. This most common forms of cancer are almost entirely preventable through attention to lifestyle or treatable through early diagnosis. This Manual gives expert advice on all aspects of prevention and treatment in the unique Haynes style. For each copy sold 50p will be donated to the Men’s Health Forum. 160 pages with approximately 200 mono illustrations

Sounds like genuine good intentions. I can’t help wonder what it can tell you that your GP can’t, but regardless, it’s money to a good cause and could possibly save lives in future.

I agree with you Bumblee, Cancer is such an odd disease. It seems to have different effects from person to person. Unfortunately I lost a close family member to it just last week, and I know the doctors felt like they were shooting in the dark with the treatments (not to take anything away from them, they did a fantastic job.) and unfortunately in the end it was sad that her body was not fit enough to tolerate the level of chemotherapy she needed.

The trouble with cancer is that it’s such a complex illness that the same treatment can be astonishingly successful for one person but completely ineffective for someone else.When my brother-in-law got prostate cancer he went to a self-help centre which very strongly sold him the idea that if he followed their suggestions alongside conventional medicine he had an excellent chance of beating the disease.The result was that his last eighteen months were made a complete misery because he had to look twice at every mouthful he ate,and couldn’t have the little treats that he loved.Yet other men who followed the same regime are still alive today.I’d say anything that increases our knowledge of cancer has to be a good thing .

Impossible to say without seeing it and what the intent and content is. My mother has survived two bouts of breast cancer, stomach cancer killed my father at age 67, 5 days off sick from work in over 30 years with the same company, ill June, very ill July, hospital August (a week after being sent home after a GP referral) , into the Hospice November, died December.

If there is anything there that raises money for research and supports the people with loved ones with cancer, then it can be only good. I can’t imagine that a well established company like haynes would do anything other….It has some good reviews on Amazon though (and check out the other titles as well)