Summary of Cancer: My Wake Up Call

Mr. James Oh is a cancer survivor in his fifties. His book Cancer: My Wake Up Call, published by Silverfish. Books details his journey from the time he was diagnosed with stage-3 stomach cancer, and the trials and tribulations he went through during his treatments.

This book is about James’s challenges and side effects of chemotherapy and surgery, his overwhelming dilemma of having to choose the best treatment from so many possibilities in a very short time as his cancer cells then were very aggressive, eventually opting for the holistic approach, and all the time seeking God’s guidance.

He relates how his illness served him his wake-up call to change his sedentary lifestyle to a more active and healthy one, how with his smaller stomach after surgery, he eats less but more frequently, walking 100 steps after meal, and incorporating qigong and meditation into his new life style.

Eventually, James lost 60% of his stomach and suffered intense and horrific side effects of chemotherapy. He relates how he initially wanted to give up when his oncologist presented him with the current dismal statistics; only 20% of the patients survived more than five years after completing their chemotherapy.

But he was confident that God was with him. To distract his mind from the bad news, he decided to pen this book. He hopes that it will give readers some tips on how to battle fearful illnesses like the Big-C, and to share lessons he has learned from this journey. Also, not forgetting his social obligations, he is committed to donate a percentage of proceeds from the sales of this book to the Cancer Community.

He affirms that the importance of his 4Gs approach that helped him combat the negative emotions of anger, fear and frustration and move forward into the dark unknown territory in cheer.

It was indeed a blessing that he was able to see things from the appropriate perspective.

It took him enormous courage to break news of his illness to his beloved family, at a time when his two younger children were still depending on him for financial support.

The author believes that he can reap the fruits of the rainbow when he completes this James’s entire painful journey is reflected by the painting on the cover of the book, with the dark foreboding trees representing his suffering and fear, and the rainbow his ultimate reward. His victory or otherwise was dependent only on God's mercy and grace. Nothing is impossible with God.