Joanna Chanis

The Waiting Room Joanna Chanis

The reason I wrote this book was it was exactly what I would have needed after my breast cancer diagnosis but couldn't find. You see, I was caught between the two worlds--the spiritual, holistic side and the medical, scientific side. I found and read many helpful books on both sides, and I am so grateful for all they taught me. But I still found myself somewhere in the middle between the two. I was and still am a very spiritual and faithful person. Still, I wasn't comfortable with surrendering to a completely holistic approach. But I am also a person who was extremely conservative medically, so deciding to have a double mastectomy and whatever ongoing treatment the doctors recommended was a big decision for me.

I knew deep down that no matter how incredible my surgeons and doctors were, and they were all amazing, if I didn't get myself right inside that they wouldn't be able to fully do their jobs. So I set forth on a journey that was a hybrid, combining the two to find a space that felt right for me. During this process, I met a woman who was going through a similar diagnosis just a few weeks behind me. I would share what I had learned with her along the way, and it helped us both get through our diagnosis and heal. I am so fortunate that she has now become a dear friend. One of my silver linings of sure.

I started to write this book when I was six weeks post-surgery. It had started as something different, what I thought people would want to read, a little guarded. Then, a few weeks into writing, my daughter Melina came to me and said, "Mom, I hope your book is honest, because I hear you crying every night in your bathroom." She was right. If I was going to really help people, I needed to be honest. That day I put aside everything holding me back, and I opened my heart and wrote. Thank you for reading.