Cancer Information and Materials at the Library

It is a rare week that goes by at Berkeley Heights Public Library when we don’t hear that someone has cancer or is undergoing chemotherapy or radiation.  On a good week, someone is celebrating a survivor anniversary.  On a bad week, someone has died.  For these reasons we quickly applied for a grant from the New Jersey State Library, provided by an anti-trust settlement against Bristol-Meyers-Squibb, to purchase cancer-related materials.  The grant was originally targeted to a specific group of cancers, but it expanded to become more inclusive.

The collection now includes books about many types of cancer, including several from the 100 Questions and Answers Series and John Hopkins Patient Guides.  The titles range from the point of being diagnosed through conventional and alternative treatments.  On the nutritional side, the titles range from diets to avoid cancer through diets for chemo patients. 

In addition to books, the collection now includes more audio titles to help people cope with and even optimize cancer treatments through meditation, positive thinking and visualization. 

Although we would prefer that no one ever needs these resources, we are ready to help.

- S. Bakos

Recommended Online Medical Resources:

Healthy New Jersey    www.healthynj.org 

Healthy New Jersey cancer resources  www.healthynj.org/groups/diseasecancer.html

MedlinePlus  www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus

American Cancer Society    www.cancer.org

National Cancer Institute    www.cancer.gov

Health Resources at the Berkeley Heights Public Library:

Dewey Decimal Classification numbers for medical and health books range from 610 to 619 at the Berkeley Heights Public Library and most libraries worldwide that use DDC.

Health sciences databases are available to library card holders through the EBSCO databases listed on our 'Databases & Articles' page  

          A selection of our new acquisitions about cancer treatment:

100 questions & answers about liver cancer / Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, Ronald P. DeMatteo. Author: Abou-Alfa, Ghassan K. Locations: Berkeley Heights Public Library - Upper Level A On Order On Order The breast cancer checklist / by Fern Reiss. Author: Reiss, Fern Locations: Berkeley Heights Public Library - Upper Level New Books 616.9944 REI Available Breast cancer survival manual : a step-by-step guide for the woman with newly diagnosed breast cancer / John S. Link ... [et al.]. Author: Link, John S. Locations: Berkeley Heights Public Library - Upper Level New Books 616.9944 LIN Available Cancer [sound recording] : embracing the healing journey / with Nancy Hopps ; harp accompaniment by Donna Mast. Author: Hopps, Nancy. Locations: Berkeley Heights Public Library - Upper Level Compact Disc CD AUDIO 616.994 HOP Available Chemotherapy [sound recording] : a healing solution / with Nancy Hopps ; harp accompaniment by Donna Mast. Author: Hopps, Nancy. Locations: Berkeley Heights Public Library - Upper Level Compact Disc CD AUDIO 616.994 HOP Available Fighting cancer with knowledge and hope : a guide for patients, families, and health care providers / Richard C. Frank, MD ; illustrations by Gale V. Parsons. Author: Frank, Richard C., 1963- Locations: Berkeley Heights Public Library - Upper Level A On Order On Order Kicking cancer in the kitchen : the girlfriend's cookbook and guide to using real food to fight cancer / Annette Ramke & Kendall Scott. Author: Ramke, Annette Locations: Berkeley Heights Public Library - Upper Level New Books 641.5631 RAM Available The Lahey Clinic guide to cooking through cancer : 100+ recipes for treatment and recovery / The Lahey Clinic Sophia Gordon Cancer Center. Locations: Berkeley Heights Public Library - Upper Level New Books 641.5631 LAH Available Meditation to help you with fatigue : guided imagery to help relieve tiredness from chemotherapy and radiation therapy [sound recording] / by Belleruth Naparstek. Author: Naparstek, Belleruth. Locations: Berkeley Heights Public Library - Upper Level Compact Disc CD AUDIO 616.994 NAP Available Promoting wellness for prostate cancer patients : a guide for men and their families / Mark A. Moyad. Author: Moyad, Mark A., 1965- Locations: Berkeley Heights Public Library - Upper Level A On Order On Order The whole-food guide for breast cancer survivors : a nutritional approach to preventing recurrence / Edward M. Bauman and Helayne L. Waldman ; foreword by Donald Abrams. Author: Bauman, Edward M. Locations: Berkeley Heights Public Library - Upper Level New Books 616.9944 BAU Available

Fighting cancer with knowledge and hope : a guide for patients, families, and health care providers / Richard C. Frank, MD ; illustrations by Gale V. Parsons.

Author: Frank, Richard C., 1963-

Locations:

Berkeley Heights Public Library - Upper Level

A On Order

Longmire, the TV series, the books, the dream

Craig Johnson's 'A Serpent's Tooth, a Walt Longmire Mystery' is the 9th in the popular series about Wyoming Sheriff Longmire. The A&E TV series 'Longmire' is based on these books, so fans of the TV series will want to read the books too. I recommend starting with the first in the book series, 'The Cold Dish', not only because it sets up the contemporary western setting and the characters, but also because the earlier books are a little stronger than this one. In 'Serpent's Tooth', Walt and his deputy, the beautiful Victoria Moretti, and his best friend, Henry Standing Bear, go on the search for the family of a 15 year old Mormon 'lost boy' who has wandered into Absaroka County. The plot meanders and ambles through a wide swath of the wild western landscape of Wyoming and nearby states, encounters a bevy of independent, ornery and downright evil characters, uncovers CIA and other fairly incredible plots and features quite a lot of heavy fire from a well-armed group of good guys and bad guys. I love the TV series and enjoy the books, but had to give this outing only 3 stars out of 5 on my Goodreads list. Still, for fans, the series of books is highly recommended.

Advertisement for the A&E TV Series

Related Links:
Live the western dream by checking out A&E's Longmire website where you can watch full episodes, enter contests, and get the scoop and gossip about the stars of the series. http://www.aetv.com/longmire/

Visit author Craig Johnson's website http://www.craigallenjohnson.com/

Read the LA Times interview with the author to discuss 'A Serpent's Tooth.'

'How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child!'

Simplicity versus Technology

Last week was a disaster of technology, involving all machines more complicated than a toaster.  One day the computer in the Children’s Department refused to renew books; the next day it refused to print receipts; and, the third day it started asking for a password for basic functions.  The newly installed server found even more creative and disruptive ways to misbehave. We were feeling technologically unlucky or, to be more accurate, cursed.

While waiting for the next electronic mishap, I started humming the old Shaker hymn 'Simple Gifts'

                  

‘Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free.

‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be.

And when we find ourselves in the place just right

‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

(1948 Joseph Brackett)

Simple in the song describes an absolute dedication to Shaker beliefs and does not imply simplistic, but the song itself is calming.  The Shakers embraced progress and modern technology and their communities were examples of incredible efficiency.  Visiting the Shaker villages in SabbathdayLake, Maine and Canterbury, New Hampshire is well worth the effort.

A Simple Murder(2012) by Eleanor Kuhns takes place in such a setting. William Rees, an itinerant weaver, returns home after the Revolutionary War to learn that his son has run away from the family farm and is living in a Shaker community.  Rees also moves to the community in an attempt to reconnect with his son and, using skills developed during the war, to solve a murder.  Kuhns’ description of the structure and rhythm of daily life in a religious community is fascinating, but does not overwhelm her development of the villagers themselves. William Rees also appears in Death of a Dyer (2013).  Finally settled back on his farm in Maine, Rees investigates the murder of a childhood friend.  At the same time, he is still negotiating his relationship with son and exploring his feelings for a woman who left the Shaker community to live as his housekeeper.  

Technology can simplify life - but when technology goes bad, simplicity is replaced by a state of frustration and complexity that tries people's patience. Start humming...

-S. Bakos

Library seen from the path in the woods