There are hundreds of books out there on cancer, covering the medical and emotional aspects of the disease. When someone is newly diagnosed, well-meaning friends and family tend to overwhelm the patient with all kinds of ‘miracle cure’ books. There are two books specific to cancer that I find very helpful in those first days of shock and fear:

Cancer is a word, not a sentence, by Buckman, 2006

From this moment on, by Cotter, 1999

There’s no place like hope, by Girard, 2001

Many people find the writings of Bernie Siegel and Rachel Remen very helpful.