Kicking Cancer's Ass: A Light-Hearted Guide to the Fight of Your Life "At any stage in the journey that is cancer; this book is invaluable for patient and caregiver alike." Sandi S - Cancer Survivor "Very thoughtful and humorous; Excellent work " Dr. Andrew Matthew- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto Kicking Cancer's Ass: A light-hearted Guide to the Fight of Your Life is written for anyone going through cancer. It contains valuable strategies, information and insights about one of life's greatest challenges. Robert Hawke draws on his experiences as a thyroid cancer survivor and on his background in comedy to deliver a helpful and humorous guide to getting through this disease. Overflowing with tips, helpful hints, and humour... Kicking Cancer's Ass can help you: Get more out of your health care professional Set up your support system so it serves you best Deal with the 4 AM blues Stay connected with yourself and those around you Make simple choices that will help you be more healthy in the future Learn strategies for recovery that your doctor might not even know A Message from the Author During recovery, I asked myself "If I had a friend or family member who was going to go through the experience of having cancer, what would I tell them? What would I want them to know to make this journey easier? Kicking Cancer's Ass: A Light-Hearted Guide to the Fight of Your Life is the answer to that question. This book's journey began more than 5 years ago. In fact, when I was diagnosed with cancer, at a young age (yes, I thought 39 was young) I had no idea what to expect. Oh sure, I knew that my health would be affected by this disease but I didn't know how. I also didn't know that cancer would change virtually every area of my life, at least temporarily. I went into these experiences without much in the way of preparation and stumbled through with the help of family and friends. Along the way, I learned how to get through it one step at a time. I hope you find this useful and I wish you well on your journey. Many of us have gone through it and we wish you all the courage, knowledge and support that you need in the days ahead. Best Wishes, Rob As a bonus, Hawke has included Kicking Cancer's Ass: A Guide for Caregivers. These 3 bonus chapters are specifically written for loved ones who are looking after people going through cancer. They contain valuable strategies and insights to make this part of the journey easier. 30% of us will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in our lives. We need to help ourselves and each other as much as we can. About the Author Robert Hawke has worked as an actor and writer for more than 20 years. Much to his surprise he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and was successfully treated 8 months later. During his recovery Robert collaborated and starred in the successful one man show "NormVsCancer: A Terminally Funny One Man Show" which he performed in Los Angeles, Toronto, and off-Broadway in New York. Robert is the first patient to become an active member of the Centre for Innovation in Complex Care (CICC), an interdisciplinary group committed to positive sustainable changes in health care at Toronto's University Health Network (UHN), Robert is co-lead of the CICC's Patient Empowerment Program whose mission is to create and deliver unique education and empowerment tools to persons living with cancer. His work was praised in the Ontario Legislature by the Hon Deb Matthews, Minister of Health in the spring of 2010. Robert is an alumnus of famed comedy troupe The Second City, performing across Canada and internationally in the Second City National Touring Company. He shared in a Canadian Comedy Award for the fully improvised musical "Showstopping Number" and shared in a Gemini Nomination for television writing. He lives in Toronto with his terrific wife and remarkably small dog.