Of Course I'm Angry - I've Got Cancer

About the Book

In the prime of her life the writer learned that she had malignant melanoma. This book somehow makes that experience both tragic and enlightening for as she records in detail the complex series of medical events that followed the diagnosis, she sets down, as a personal commentary slipped in between the items of the factual story, her private reactions to what was happening. Many readers will find the medical history informative (and she tells about it with an informal style that keeps it from being distressing to read) but it is her personal responses to what was happening that gives a rare insider’s view of how an intelligent and sensitive person dealt with doctors (some of them merely technical and businesslike, others understanding and supportive) and how she learned to adjust and to manage her life. It is an epic tale of how one patient moved from terror (literally) to courage, from ignorance to comprehension. What saves it from being merely scary or pathetic is the author’s feisty attitude, conveyed by a slangy and often belligerent style. The book takes us through the worst months to a time of leveling off before the cancer recurred. This is the narrative of a medical adventure, faced with courage and humor, and realistic in its determination to learn about what was happening. It shares the emotions of an inner adventure as well, one that we seldom hear about from the seriously ill, but which this patient has the strength to open to us with a nice mixture of anger, fear and toughness.

About the Author

Cass Welsh (Catherine Ann Canby Welsh) was born in 1946 on her mother’s birthday, October 2. She received her B.A from Park College in Kansas City, and her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. She was a site manager for the Minnesota Historical Society, and later a special assistant in the office of the Governor of Minnesota. At her retirement she was a Senior Investigator in the office of the Attorney General of Minnesota specializing in investigating frauds targeting senior citizens, and telemarketing scams. In 1998 she received the National Cal Leitch Award from the National Association of Consumer Protection Investigators