Dr. Anne Katz

My book for and about young adults with cancer is due out any day now… I just don’t know which day! It’s both frustrating and exciting - I really would like to know when to expect the hard copy and yet once I have it in my hands, the anticipation will be over. Life’s like that…. I have seen the galleys and I of course had significant input into the cover (that I love and can’t wait to post but I have had some technical challenges with that). I am really proud of it and hope that it does well.

The publisher is excited about it too and they think that it has ‘cross over’ appeal - it is being advertised on the Publisher’s Weekly website for the month of December and presumably that will increase sales. I presented a scholarly synopsis of the work at a conference in October and it was well received by the audience, predominately nurses which leads me to… book #10 which is a text book on how to provide psychosocial care to young adults with cancer. I am in the data gathering phase of that - killing forests as I collect supporting papers - and filing them neatly in anticipation of the writing that was supposed to start this week…. just another form of waiting….

I handed my latest book in on its due date - May 31, 2013. It was a really interesting book to write and has inspired me to be more involved clinically with fertility preservation counselling at work. But that’s another story.

For now, I wait anxiously to hear that the publisher likes the new book. It has chapters on treatment decision making, taking part in clinical trials, how to deal with family and friends, going back to work or school after treatment, keeping healthy, the importance of surveillance for late effects of treatment, fertility preservation, contraception, and of course dating and sexuality. I interviewed young adults with cancer as part of the research for the book and that was probably my favorite part. Hearing their stories was both saddening and frustrating (many had long delays before being diagnosed because they were ‘too young’ to have cancer) but ultimately, they are here to tell their stories and that is what is really important.

I am taking the summer ‘off’ - giving myself a break before writing the proposal for my 10th book (yikes - how did that happen?) - but I will be writing some papers about young adults… I’ve done the reading and the review of the literature so it just makes sense. Of course I might also just sit around and read (for fun)…..

My soon-to-be-newest book is almost done - just two or three chapters left to write and (hopefully) my co-author is done at the same time and - away she will go! this one is for and about young adults with cancer and it has been a most interesting and inspiring project. I interviewed close to 20 young adults from Canada and the US to hear their stories - and the grace and generosity I experienced some times kept me up in the early hours of the morning….

I really love the writing part, endure the revision, and enjoy the delayed gratification of waiting for it to come out. There is something really special when I see the galley proofs - and the feel of a new book in my hands is a pleasure that does not dim with repetition. And of course I also enjoy doing the PR stuff afterwards - it just gets better and better…

Having finished writing my last book (Prostate Cancer and the Man You Love) in May of 2012 I wondered how long it would be before another one got started. And here I sit on a cold morning in January, writing the first chapter of my next book. Well, really I should say “our’ next book - because this one is being written with the talented Alicia Merchant.

I met Alicia in November 2012 at the Young Adult Cancer Canada conference in Toronto. I’d been invited to do a keynote address and two workshops - and after one of these workshops I was talking to some of the participants, and this lovely young woman came up to talk to me. I’m not sure how long we talked, but I immediately knew that she was the one who would help my write this next book - a book for and about young adults and adolescents with cancer.

I never really plan what book I will write next, and truth be told, I always think that after I complete a book that it will be my last. And of course that has never happened. In preparing for the talks I was giving at the conference the idea of this book started germinating - but I needed to meet Alicia to figure out how to do it. She is a cancer survivor, editor, blogger (http://alittlebitworse.wordpress.com), deep thinker - and not in that particular order. She is feisty and funny and sarcastic and honest - and everything that I need to be laser sharp with this book. Alicia is doing interviews with young cancer survivors across North America and she will then edit the transcripts and I will weave the theoretical and practical tips into the stories from the interviews.

The book is due to the publisher at the end of May (yes, this year!) and I hope to have it in my hands later this year. There is lots to do - I have piles of papers to read, lots to think about, and a fair amount of travel in there too. But there is more to this than just writing a book - I know that I am going to learn life lessons from collaborating for the first time with another writer - and more from reading the interviews of young people who have gone through what most of us cannot even begin to imagine. Here goes - another adventure begins…

I was recently interviewed for an article about the quality of life issues for women with breast cancer. The lengthy article published across Canada deals with the many issues facing women with breast cancer, including sexuality and body image. There are also challenges in Canada where many women wait a very long time for reconstructive surgery. Follow the link below to read the entire article.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/11/04/breast-cancer-mastechtomies/

Prostate cancer doesn’t just affect the patient, but also his spouse or partner, asserts Anne Katz, RN, PhD, in Prostate Cancer and the Man You Love. A clinical nurse specialist at Canada’s Manitoba Prostate Centre and editor of the Oncology Nursing Society’s prestigious Oncology Nursing Forum journal, Katz tackles this intimate and sensitive subject with the same professionalism and compassion that appear in her four previous books about cancer. And like those earlier titles, her reason for writing Prostate Cancer and the Man You Love, she says, is simple: to help those dealing with prostate cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery not just survive, but thrive.

Katz, who has dedicated much of her professional life to educating and counseling couples on the sexual changes that come with cancer, includes all types of couples in her book—old and young, gay and straight, and those from mixed cultural and racial backgrounds. This inclusiveness makes the book even more invaluable and unique among those on bookshelves today. Also notable is the scope and depth of information Katz provides. Chapter topics range from the very basic “Where and What is the Prostate Gland?” to an in-depth look at surgical options and side effects to detailed, compassionate advice on how to talk about sexual needs and fears with a partner. Also covered are other intimate, uncomfortable, and often embarrassing aspects of prostate cancer, including incontinence, erectile difficulties, and messy bowel problems.

The last two chapters focus on end-of-life care and the importance of the partner not forgetting about the need for self-care because, as Katz puts it: “If you don’t take care of yourself, you really can’t take care of, or take part in the care of, your partner or spouse. But so often we forget this … and we end up not being able to help anyone.”

Throughout, Katz mixes firsthand stories with her straightforward, well-thought-out and well-composed prose. The book is dense. It lacks any of the bulleted lists or drop quotes that authors often use to highlight key information and, in many cases, allow a reader to skim. But for those willing to invest in the time to read and digest this comprehensive reference, Prostate Cancer and the Man You Love provides loving advice, comfort, and insight that any couple facing the disease will benefit from receiving.

Cindy Wolfe Boyton
August 30, 2012

How amazing - two of my books (Man Cancer Sex at left and Woman Cancer Sex) have been published in Chinese!

Peking University Medical Press approached my publisher (the amazing Hygeia Media) and bought the rights to have the books translated and then published them. They used the same cover art, front and back, and the only words I recognized in the books were my name over and over, as well as the names of the (fictional) characters that I used in the books to illustrate how cancer and its treatment affect sexuality.

Every time I look at the books, now on a shelf above my head, I smile - I just can’t help myself… China today - where else tomorrow?????

My new book will be out at the end of July, 2012…. this weekend I will have the (dubious) pleasure of indexing it. This is no small feat, especially for someone who is not at all detail oriented. I have to read every single word and then create the index single handedly… I’ve done it before on other books and did not love it. But it’s also an opportunity to catch any errors that passed my eyes and the eyes of the copy writers who worked on it to this point. So I’m taking a deep breath and preparing myself for a long and headachey weekend. I can’t wait to hold this one in my hands - isn’t the cover just lovely?

Hang onto your hats, people - it’s not quite here but at the end of the summer it will be. My latest book - PROSTATE CANCER AND THE MAN YOU LOVE: SUPPORTING AND CARING FOR YOUR PARTNER.

Yes, it’s a long title but it says it like it is - this book covers everything along the prostate cancer journey, from diagnosis to death. And the focus of the book is on the perspective of the partner (as opposed to many other books where the focus is on the man himself).

So, stay tuned, tell your friends and colleagues and watch out for more news closer to release.

After 8 amazing years as editor of Nursing for Women’s Health, my tenure is at an end. But bitter sweet endings leave room for new beginnings and I am happy and proud and generally overwhelmed to announce that I have been appointed as editor of Oncology Nursing Forum, the flagship journal of the Oncology Nursing Society.

This is a big step for me - the journal is ranked 5th among all nursing journals and is highly respected as the resource for nurses in oncology who want to provide evidence-based care, as well as for oncology nursing researchers as the place to be published. I know that I will be well supported by an excellent and professional staff in the Publications department at ONS and by a solid Editorial Advisory Board.

My new adventure begins March 1st - and I can hardly wait.