Review of First Survivor

[Elizabeth Wujek]

[Following is a volunteer review of "First Survivor" by Mark Unger.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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This book amounts to an incredibly detailed story of an unspeakable journey through pain, confusion, heartache, and fright, and ultimately relief, joy, and happiness. It includes the patient, sibling, parents, nurses, doctors, and everyone on his care team, from the home health nurses to family members who assisted.
The patient - the authors' son - was only three years old when the parents received the life-altering diagnosis. The survival rate was only 30% at the time of diagnosis, and the agony they all had to get through is amazing.
I enjoyed this book because the author added pictures of the patient, the family, the sibling, and even one of the doctors involved and mentioned in the story. The author also added some of the notes that were taken during the whole ordeal and explained them in great detail.
At the lead into the book, the author states that this is not to be considered a medical "how to"; it is their journey and everyone's journey is different.
However, there is a lot of medical jargon. The author has a definition of all terminology in the back of the book, and it is extensive. I have worked in the health care field for many years and this was tough to follow because I do not work in oncology. This was a major plus for me (adding that terminology definition), and because of many reasons, I rate this book a complete 5 out of 5 . Not only is it well written, there are no spelling errors so I felt that it was well-edited. However, there are two sentences that I feel are missing a couple of words, but it wasn't often and didn't distract.
The author writes about the emotions, heartaches, sorrows, pitfalls, elation and celebration when remission is said, but also the frustration and confusion, and feeling helpless when they are told that the cancer has returned.
There are no sexual overtones, no abuse, and no religious mentions throughout the book. However, there are a few swear words when the author gets upset with the situation. I am not sure that any person under the age of 16 is prepared for this book. The medical jargon is one thing, but the emotions are high and the author has written it so well that you can feel those emotions.

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First Survivor
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