Last week, Colleen got us thinking about stunning reversals and equally stunning comebacks. One blazing example of both is my dear friend, bestselling author, and quintesential Jewish Mamala, Wendy S. Harpham, M.D., whose thriving private practice was derailed by a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1990. "Within weeks of my diagnosis, I realized I was learning so much that would help my patients," says Wendy. "I had the knowledge and the background of a physician, but now I was having the experiences and the insights of a patient facing a life-threatening illness, and just instinctively, I started to write what I was learning. Over the weeks and months of my chemotherapy, this little manuscript turned into a full-fledged book, Diagnosis Cancer."Normally, you have to kinda hate someone whose first book is instantly picked up by a major New York house and greeted with great acclaim, but Wendy's such a sweetie, it's okay. Wendy finished treatment and returned to work, but when her remission didn't hold up, she reluctantly closed her practice, and set a new path for herself as a healer. She followed up with After Cancer, When a Parent Has Cancer, and most recently, the powerful Happiness in a Storm.
"A cancer diagnosis encourages us to know both the fragility and hopes of life, and with that knowledge to live most fully," Wendy says. "The intimate knowledge of what might have been lost (and might yet be) makes me feel today and everyday in a wonderfully intense way."Wendy just started blogging -- a great link to pass along to anyone whose life is touched by cancer.
And click here to watch the video portrait that ushered Wendy into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame. It just might change the way you live your life today.
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