In my ISHN column last June I disclosed my prostate cancer and drew parallels between a cancer diagnosis and an occupational injury. Then, in October, my ISHN article revealed similarities and differences between recovering from cancer surgery versus an occupational injury. In this article, I draw parallels between my strategies for continuing to survive cancer and those for achieving an injury-free workplace. These suggestions are founded on empirical results, not common sense. The data were obtained by Greg Anderson, author of "Cancer: 50 Essential Things to Do" (Plume, 1999).
In 1984, Mr. Anderson was diagnosed with metastasized lung cancer, and was told he only had 30 days to live. Refusing to accept this hopeless state, he searched for individuals who had survived cancer that doctors labeled "terminal." He looked for common patterns among more than 500 interviews, and from these he derived his own action plan.