As a gynecologist who overcame breast cancer, Dr. Alan Johns knew he had to share his interesting perspective on treatment. We dug into what made this doctor a writer.
What made you want to share your story?
After recovering, I realized how much of an advantage I had in my treatment being a physician. I knew who to see and where to go. I thought it would be nice to help cancer patients understand what was going to happen, how it should happen and how to get through it all.
What advice can you offer to people going through cancer treatment?
The most important thing to keep in mind when you're first diagnosed is that it's not an emergency. You need to understand what you have as treatment options and the qualifications of the physicians treating you. The tendency is just to find somebody and say, "Fix it tomorrow." Sometimes, rash decisions made in haste, particularly in cancer care, can be devastating.
What was the most challenging part of putting your story into words?
It wasn't challenging to write it down the first time, but it became difficult to read through it and edit it because I was just reliving [cancer] again and again.
