Review of First Survivor
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Sharon Grimes
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- Latest Review: First Survivor by Mark Unger
Review of First Survivor
[Following is a volunteer review of "First Survivor" by Mark Unger.]
The book, First Survivor: The Impossible Childhood Cancer Breakthrough, was written by Mark Unger. It is a story about Mark and Mary Ellen Unger’s youngest son, Louis. Louis was only three years old when, in August 2001, he was diagnosed with a rare cancer. Mark and Mary Ellen were determined to save their son from this rare disease. They begin by talking to their team of doctors. They asked questions about what type of cancer this was and what their son’s chances of recovery were. They wanted to ask the doctors to explain in detail what their plan was to cure their son of this disease. It was important to them to have good communication with the doctors. After a few meetings with these doctors, and to be able to keep up with the daily procedures their son was going to have to go through, Mark decided he would have to take daily notes. These daily notes would be on what tests Louis had to have, the type of medicine they would be giving him, and the results of the tests. They were going to be a super advocate for their son.
Dr. Diana Beardsley was one of many of Louis's doctors. She was from Yale New Haven Hospital. She was a world-famous hematologist. She performed tests on Louis and determined that Louis had a cancerous tumor called Neuroblastoma, Stage 4; many specialists believed it was incurable. When they asked what she thought his chances were, she stated 25-30% survival. Her plan for the stages of treatment was to give Louis two different types of chemotherapy to attack the tumor and the remaining neuroblastoma cells. This would also destroy his bone marrow. The second stage would be to regrow the bone marrow through a transplant of healthy stem cells.
Louis’ parents decided they would acquire as much knowledge about this disease as possible. They wanted to have the doctor explain each day what the plan was in detail. They needed to know the procedure each day, what type of medication he was to receive, and what were the results. Mark’s daily logbook became more detailed. This helped him immensely to keep so much information straight each day. He would write down the medication and dosage that was to be given to their son, then his son's reaction to the medicine, and also what the results were after the chemotherapy to name a few things. This is a sample of one of his logs after a CT scan: “Fullness of left side of the stomach—kidney enlarged. Malignant cells did not type as leukemia but a CAT scan shows a 6 cm mass/tumor above the kidney on the left. Tumor in the adrenal gland (controls blood pressure) urine will show the type of cancer.” At this point, Mark and his wife were getting frustrated with the lack of sufficient daily information they were getting from the doctors and their staff. They asked to have a meeting with Dr. Beardsley and bring them up-to-date on the results of his tests. Mark’s daily notes were incomplete and he needed to know if there were any signs of progress. For example, he wrote, “Where, for instance, were the bone marrow results?” Mark realized their needs were not as important as the needs of many more patients, but after three days of tests on Louis, he needed answers. Therefore, he asked for a meeting with Dr. Beardsley.
Dr. Beardsley’s meeting was very informative. She gave them a detailed report on the chemotherapy, and the transfusions Louis was receiving. Mark learned that doctors do like patients asking questions and keeping them informed. The meetings continued to keep them updated. This helped them to stay on top of the procedures Louis had to go through to become cancer-free. There were times Louis was able to go home for a few days. His parents would have to watch over him 24/7 for any signs of a relapse. They would have to administer his medicine and continue with his treatments. Louis also would have to go into the hospital twice a week for his chemotherapy. This would have to continue until his blood count was normal and scans could not detect any cancer cells. With all that Louis had gone through at the hospital, he had been very brave and accepting during the treatments, blood transfusions, chemo, medicines making him ill, and numerous tests. He was doing great.
Because Louis’s immune system was so low, any infection could easily kill him. Mark and Mary Ellen decided they needed to do a deep search online to see doctors, clinics, and groups that specialized in neuroblastoma. They would fight long and hard to keep their son alive and get him back to full health.
Mark's goal was to search and find the best specialists and treatment options for Louis. He found it at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center which had a neuroblastoma group. This would give their son the best chance for survival. Because of his goal to search for other hospitals and doctors who knew of this cancer, he was able to locate a doctor that was willing to help cure his son of cancer. Mark and Mary Ellen's determination to fight for their young son's cure, along with Mark’s detailed notes, helped them to get through many of these very intense times. They would not give up.
I rate this book 5 out of 5. This book is well-written and has been professionally edited with very few mistakes. Mark Unger wrote this book to take you through a journey he and his family went through when Louis was diagnosed with cancer. The book was very detailed about how the family coped and what impact it had on each of them. His notes were so thorough you would get tears in your eyes at the suffering this child had to go through for years. I would highly recommend this book for anyone to read and realize how brave and dedicated they were to never quit or give up on their son. Mark stated, “There are no dead ends, only new paths.” He also said, “Take good notes and keep asking questions.”
******
First Survivor
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The book, First Survivor: The Impossible Childhood Cancer Breakthrough, was written by Mark Unger. It is a story about Mark and Mary Ellen Unger’s youngest son, Louis. Louis was only three years old when, in August 2001, he was diagnosed with a rare cancer. Mark and Mary Ellen were determined to save their son from this rare disease. They begin by talking to their team of doctors. They asked questions about what type of cancer this was and what their son’s chances of recovery were. They wanted to ask the doctors to explain in detail what their plan was to cure their son of this disease. It was important to them to have good communication with the doctors. After a few meetings with these doctors, and to be able to keep up with the daily procedures their son was going to have to go through, Mark decided he would have to take daily notes. These daily notes would be on what tests Louis had to have, the type of medicine they would be giving him, and the results of the tests. They were going to be a super advocate for their son.
Dr. Diana Beardsley was one of many of Louis's doctors. She was from Yale New Haven Hospital. She was a world-famous hematologist. She performed tests on Louis and determined that Louis had a cancerous tumor called Neuroblastoma, Stage 4; many specialists believed it was incurable. When they asked what she thought his chances were, she stated 25-30% survival. Her plan for the stages of treatment was to give Louis two different types of chemotherapy to attack the tumor and the remaining neuroblastoma cells. This would also destroy his bone marrow. The second stage would be to regrow the bone marrow through a transplant of healthy stem cells.
Louis’ parents decided they would acquire as much knowledge about this disease as possible. They wanted to have the doctor explain each day what the plan was in detail. They needed to know the procedure each day, what type of medication he was to receive, and what were the results. Mark’s daily logbook became more detailed. This helped him immensely to keep so much information straight each day. He would write down the medication and dosage that was to be given to their son, then his son's reaction to the medicine, and also what the results were after the chemotherapy to name a few things. This is a sample of one of his logs after a CT scan: “Fullness of left side of the stomach—kidney enlarged. Malignant cells did not type as leukemia but a CAT scan shows a 6 cm mass/tumor above the kidney on the left. Tumor in the adrenal gland (controls blood pressure) urine will show the type of cancer.” At this point, Mark and his wife were getting frustrated with the lack of sufficient daily information they were getting from the doctors and their staff. They asked to have a meeting with Dr. Beardsley and bring them up-to-date on the results of his tests. Mark’s daily notes were incomplete and he needed to know if there were any signs of progress. For example, he wrote, “Where, for instance, were the bone marrow results?” Mark realized their needs were not as important as the needs of many more patients, but after three days of tests on Louis, he needed answers. Therefore, he asked for a meeting with Dr. Beardsley.
Dr. Beardsley’s meeting was very informative. She gave them a detailed report on the chemotherapy, and the transfusions Louis was receiving. Mark learned that doctors do like patients asking questions and keeping them informed. The meetings continued to keep them updated. This helped them to stay on top of the procedures Louis had to go through to become cancer-free. There were times Louis was able to go home for a few days. His parents would have to watch over him 24/7 for any signs of a relapse. They would have to administer his medicine and continue with his treatments. Louis also would have to go into the hospital twice a week for his chemotherapy. This would have to continue until his blood count was normal and scans could not detect any cancer cells. With all that Louis had gone through at the hospital, he had been very brave and accepting during the treatments, blood transfusions, chemo, medicines making him ill, and numerous tests. He was doing great.
Because Louis’s immune system was so low, any infection could easily kill him. Mark and Mary Ellen decided they needed to do a deep search online to see doctors, clinics, and groups that specialized in neuroblastoma. They would fight long and hard to keep their son alive and get him back to full health.
Mark's goal was to search and find the best specialists and treatment options for Louis. He found it at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center which had a neuroblastoma group. This would give their son the best chance for survival. Because of his goal to search for other hospitals and doctors who knew of this cancer, he was able to locate a doctor that was willing to help cure his son of cancer. Mark and Mary Ellen's determination to fight for their young son's cure, along with Mark’s detailed notes, helped them to get through many of these very intense times. They would not give up.
I rate this book 5 out of 5. This book is well-written and has been professionally edited with very few mistakes. Mark Unger wrote this book to take you through a journey he and his family went through when Louis was diagnosed with cancer. The book was very detailed about how the family coped and what impact it had on each of them. His notes were so thorough you would get tears in your eyes at the suffering this child had to go through for years. I would highly recommend this book for anyone to read and realize how brave and dedicated they were to never quit or give up on their son. Mark stated, “There are no dead ends, only new paths.” He also said, “Take good notes and keep asking questions.”
******
First Survivor
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: First Survivor by Mark Unger
