8 Steps to Getting Real with Cancer is a practical step-by-step guide for newly-diagnosed cancer patients and those who love them. Empowerment is the key theme throughout this book as Marianne McDonough, a breast cancer survivor, addresses the critical first weeks following diagnosis when patients suddenly face wrenching decisions, intense stress, and their own mortality.

The book is divided into 8 Steps that coincide with the hard questions patients ask themselves, such as:

* What do I know about cancer and believe to be true about myself as a cancer patient?