I’m Sorry, It’s Cancer – an interview with author Chris Frey
by Boysen Hodgson
My Mom died of cancer on September 13, 2003. She had an incredible amount of love and support in her life and access to the best care available at the time. It took she and my step father hundreds of hours to find the right doctors and hospitals, to find the right support services, to learn how to live with happiness, communication and gratitude even when times were very dark. It occurred to me at the time that there really was no handbook for how to create that. Some people seem to succeed, others fail to build the kind of structures that can help them move through. So when Chris Frey sent an email to the ManKind Project Journal, I invited him to have a conversation.
Chris Frey’s new book – “I’m Sorry, It’s Cancer; a Handbook of Help and Hope for Survivors and Caregivers” takes a look at the journey of cancer in a unique way. Frey is an MSW, LCSW, and when he was diagnosed with stage IV throat cancer, he and his wife set out to create what they needed to maneuver through the medical system and build the social and personal structures they needed to fight and survive with grace. Frey wrote the book as a way of sharing what he learned as a professional care-giver with others who may be facing the same struggle.
Frey is also a long time member of the ManKind Project. In our interview we explore how the skills he has learned in doing men’s work and being with other men in a tightly knit community of friendships helped him navigate the complex set of emotions and communications that came with his diagnosis and his treatment.
– is a deeply personal issue that everyone decides for himself. Sometimes the price is high, sometimes low. But this is not very important for life. Life is an interesting thing. And the price on Viagra – too.
