Case Study: Sarcoma Survivor Story
Living Hope: Telling the Story of an Against-All-Odds Cancer Survival with Credibility and Care
Summary:
For a forthcoming collaborative memoir about a remarkable cancer journey and against-all-odds sarcoma survival, I wove medical and technical insights from some of the country’s leading oncology experts with personal reflections and anecdotes from multiple other perspectives to craft an accessible and inspiring story for general audiences of hope in the face of unthinkable fear.
Challenge / Need:
Sarcoma is a complex, lesser-known cancer with survival odds that are nothing short of frightening. To tell this patient’s story with medical fidelity and emotional resonance, I needed to weave together clinical nuance and compelling personal reflections from the human journey without compromising accuracy, to arrive at a captivating and engaging story of hope that encourages others faced with a challenging diagnosis.
Strategic Approach:
I approached each interview with informed and structured curiosity to earn the trust of a diverse range of clinical sources, including some of MD Anderson’s top oncology experts, while guiding them toward story-centric, accessible explanations. I then layered the medical commentary into a narrative framework that centered on the patient’s lived experience, as well as reflections and observations from friends and family.
Execution:
After conducting more than 43 personal interviews, I created a structure for this story, then worked through it section by section to develop scenes, interspersing narrative with dialogue, laced with medical “explainers” grounded in the real words of surgeons, oncologists, and researchers. Each section was built to preserve both medical integrity and reader accessibility to engage non-medical readers, including patients, families, and survivors, in a page-turning story that weaves its lessons and insights into a compelling narrative of hope.
Results:
The manuscript is complete and now under review by both clinicians, the patient, and beta readers to verify its honesty, clarity, and compassion. The goal is for physicians interviewed to agree to continued collaboration, affirming their respect for how their voices were represented.