Almost everyone has been touched by some form of cancer in their lifetime, either as a patient or as a friend or family member. “Planet Cancer,” co-written by siblings Heidi Schultz Adams and Christopher Schultz, takes a humorous look into this serious, familiar world.
“What’s the use in not enjoying your life as you struggle with cancer?” says Schultz of their approach.
The Planet Cancer organization was founded 10 years ago by Heidi, a cancer survivor, and has since teamed up with Lance Armstrong’s LiveStrong foundation to help provide connections between the 70,000 young adults diagnosed with cancer every year in the United States.
They wanted to direct the book toward young people, as well. “The disheartening thing about the young adult cancer population is that there has been no improvement in survival rates in three decades,” says Shultz. “What we want to do with the book is to try to do away with some of the isolation that young adults feel as they go through cancer treatment.”
Regarding the differences between “Planet Cancer” and the other many books about the disease, he says, “It isn’t one person’s cancer story. It is a very youthful, funny, practical, information-filled book that anyone who has been touched by cancer can benefit from reading.”
