Cancer on the Brain: Book Review

I just finished reading Cancer on the Brain: One Man’s Journey of Baseball, Business and Beating the Odds.

For starters, let me say that this isn’t a book about brain cancer. It’s a book about a man who first had a benign brain tumor, hemagiopericytoma, (no, I never heard of it before) and then had cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which was a mass in his chest.

The book is also about an unrepentant, type-A “man’s man.” This is not a guy who wallows in self-pity. This is a guy who, seven days after a six hour surgery, went back to work. Seven days after my surgery I couldn't even spell "work."

And, to be clear, this is also a guy who’s had more than his fair share of radiation and chemo.

For me, the most interesting part of the book had nothing to do with brain tumors or cancer, it was his chapters about coaching a team of mostly Hispanic boys and the life lessons he taught them…although he seemed to learn a lot from them, too.

In many ways he reminds me of my uncle who had a big heart, but just didn't want anybody to know it.

If you’re interested in the science behind the diseases or detailed insights into his emotional responses, this isn’t the book for you. If you want to know about a hard-charging, successful businessman who sees a brain tumor, cancer and the associated handicaps (e.g. a numb and malfunctioning leg) as annoying rather than debilitating, try it.

Here’s a link to the Amazon posting: http://www.amazon.com/Cancer-Brain-Journey-Baseball-Business/dp/1937110249/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351022057&sr=8-1&keywords=cancer+on+the+brain