Got Cancer?

About the Book

got cancer? (spring break gone bad) is the diary-like account of James J. Gaudio’s induction into a club that is perfectly indiscriminate in regard to membership, i.e., the cancer patients’ club. The narrative recounts the three principal components constituting Gaudio’s initiation: the insidious attack that the killer waged against him for months, an intense eleven days of hospitalization, and a substantially altered self-portrait of himself. This cathartic work offers service to: Cancer patients Potential cancer patients The families and friends of cancer patients The medical community For thirteen years, Gaudio worked as a high school chemistry teacher until cancer abruptly ended his school year in April 2007. Like millions before and millions to follow, cancer made him a most reluctant expert regarding a most unwanted fate.

About the Author

James J. Gaudio was born and raised in the Upper Ohio Valley. His hometown is Follansbee, WV, located about forty miles WSW of Pittsburgh, PA. After graduating from high school in 1969, James earned several collegiate degrees, and he has worked in various capacities in the private and public sectors, both as an employee and as a contractor. Upon graduating from the University of Northern Colorado with a BA in Chemistry (emphasis in secondary education) in 1992, James embarked on a new career working as a high school chemistry teacher. During the summer of 1994, he was hired to teach College Preparatory Chemistry at Skyline High School, Longmont, CO. James taught at Skyline until cancer prematurely concluded his school year in April 2007. He and his wife, Eva, continue to reside in Longmont. James is currently pursuing a new career as an author, in conjunction with developing other entrepreneurial interests.