Hope Begins in the Dark - Jamie Reno

[alpaca]

Hi All,
You'll find some familiar names in this book. Jamie is such a fine young man who is doing so much for those battling blood cancers. Please visit his web site, too, as he is a very talented musician. Hugs, Sands (moderator)

Hope Begins in the Dark - Hot Off the Press!
By Brian Krans, bkrans@qconline.com


Tina Peeples, of Silvis, is featured in the upcoming book 'Hope Begins in the Dark: 50 Lymphoma Survivors Tell Their Tales' by Newsweek reporter Jamie Reno. Ms. Peeples, a federal court deputy clerk, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in June 2005. She has been in remission for more than a year.

With people like the co-founder of Microsoft, professional athletes and musicians, Tina Peeples knows one thing for certain.

"I'm in the company of good people," the deputy clerk at U.S. District Court, Rock Island, said.

All are survivors of lymphoma, the most common form of blood cancer, and all are featured in a new book "Hope Begins in the Dark: 50 Lymphoma Survivors Tell Their Tales."

The book was written by singer/songwriter Jamie Reno, who is an award-winning writer for Newsweek. The author is also an 11-year survivor of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. "Hope" is lauded as a first-of-its-kind book for those diagnosed with the disease that has 65,000 new cases a year.

How Ms. Peeples came into the book was as simple as an e-mail.

In June 2005, Ms. Peeples, now 55, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Following the cancer diagnosis from a less-than-friendly physician, it took Ms. Peeples 30 minutes before she could calm herself to drive home.

"I don't recall having any symptoms other than some swelling in my legs and some internal bleeding I was unaware of," she said.

Afterward, she went to the Internet to look for support groups and found Mr. Reno, a native of Des Moines.

Following a brief exchange, she learned they had a lot in common.

"We basically had the same symptoms and were both in Stage 4, which is the worst stage," Ms. Peeples, of Silvis, said.

Mr. Reno's mother grew up in Davenport; his father got his television and radio career started at WOC. He felt a connection to Ms. Peeples because of all the return trips to the Quad-Cities he made growing up.

Following chemotherapy, Ms. Peeples’ cancer went into remission in July 2006. Now she goes through treatment twice a year. Through support from Mr. Reno, plus her family, friends and employer, Ms. Peeples said she discovered a few things about herself.

"I don't worry about little things anymore or don't let things bother me," she said. "I've learned that when you get bad news, don't give up. Just my communication from Jamie gave me a lot."

The book is one thing Mr. Reno said he wishes he had when he was first diagnosed and began treatment. Scouring the bookstore shelves, he said he didn't find a collection of stories from those who have survived lymphoma. He always thought about writing one.

"Ever since then, I've wanted to do something positive," Mr. Reno said in a phone interview last week.

Two years ago, he stopped talking and started doing. With an education grant from pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, Mr. Reno self-published the book, which is to be released next month. Hopefully, he said, he can team up with lymphoma groups to get the book distributed for free to lymphoma patients and survivors.

"The most prominent theme is to become your own advocate," he said. "It's not anti-doctor; it's pro-patient."

Lymphoma survivors are plentiful, but Mr. Reno, now of San Diego, said he chose Ms. Peeples as a story he wanted to keep in the book because of his connection to the Midwest and the Quad-Cities. In promotional material for the book, he refers to Ms. Peeples as an "Iowa native with common sense and decency."

Ms. Peeples laughs at the description. "I don't know where he got that," she said.

Through her part in creating the book and overcoming lymphoma, Ms. Peeples said it's comforting knowing there are many others like her out there.

"Lymphoma affects not just one portion of our society. It runs the gamut," she said. "It's not a death sentence. I can live with this. I know I have steps to take and things to keep myself healthy."

INFOBOX:

"Hope Begins in the Dark: 50 Lymphoma Survivors Tell Their Tales" by Jamie Reno

- Featuring lymphoma survivor stories from the likes of Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft; Brad Coffman, lymphoma survivor who later served in the Iraq war; Rebecca Rau, diagnosed at 13, now 15. Also includes Tina Peeples, a deputy clerk at the Rock Island federal courthouse.

- Released January 2008

- To contact the author: jreno@san.rr.com

- On the Web: www.hopebeginsinthedark.com
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Diagnosed 9/99 with follicular NHL. No Conventional treatment to date. Practice many of Robert Miller's strategies, plus some of my own.

[RayJay]

Alpaca-- This is a great book review. It looks like a book most of us should read. Survivor stories can help us all keep up our spirits and learn how to be positive in the journey we are on. Thanks for the note it is a good start for a New Year. Ray Jay
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Ray Jay
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fnhl grade 2 stage 2 dx 3/13/07 nodes in abdomen (menentery) No treatment yet

[gadavis]

Folks,

I've reached out to the author (Jamie) and my copy of book is in the mail.

If you recall, Robert mentioned Jamie in one of his previous newsletters. Additionally, Jamie tells me that Robert is one of the quoted survivor stories.

Looking forward to the reading.

gadavis
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gadavis

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dx 6/18/07, 44yr / fNHL, grade 2, stage 1 / B-cell positive / bone marrow biopsy negative

[is67345]

I would like to order a copy of this book. Is there any plan to have a group purchase through the "Lymphona Survial" web site group?
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Diagnosed Jun 2006 Grade I, Stage IV fNHL,
8 CVPR chemo sessions. CT Scan in Dec 2007 showed residual nodes have been shrunk to acceptable size, currently on 2-year Ritux maintenance.

[gadavis]

I would suggest you email jamie directly - he's offering a pretty good discount.
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gadavis

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dx 6/18/07, 44yr / fNHL, grade 2, stage 1 / B-cell positive / bone marrow biopsy negative

[Robert]

Hi Everyone:

I've finally received my copy of the book. It appears to have taken an extra couple of weeks to make its way across the border.

As expected, and in keeping with Sands' original post in this thread in early January, Jamie has done a great job in compiling the detailed stories of many lymphoma survivors...50 in all...from all walks of life. It's encouraging for me to see so many members included from this site.

I highly recommend this book to everyone, especially I suppose, those newly diagnosed, looking for genuine feedback, hearing things and taking guidance from others faced with the same challenge; information that the medical system is seldom able to provide.

To order the book, Jaime suggests that people contact him directly through his email jreno@san.rr.com He is selling the book at this point for $15 (a bargain I'd say) because there are a finite number printed, but at some point this year the goal will be to print more and provide them for free.

~Robert
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Please see "My Personal History" by first logging in through the Members Section button at http://LymphomaSurvival.com and then scrolling down the page to SECTION 2.