‘One Man’s Life-Changing Diagnosis’ Wins American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award

While much of the day to day discussion about the U.S. healthcare system fixates on insurance reform, implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and the cost of care, quality patient outcomes and holistic approaches to the impacts of disease on individual patients (both of which, of course, play a significant role in medical costs and healthcare spending) are also an important part of the national discussion about improving the country’s healthcare system. It is in that context that a recent book has been recognized for addressing the totality of disease within our massive healthcare system.

Craig T. Pynn, author of One Man’s Life-Changing Diagnosis, published by Demos Health, has won the 2012 American Journal of Nursing (AJN) Book of the Year Award in the Consumer Health Category.

In One Man’s Life-Changing Diagnosis, Craig T. Pynn chronicles his journey with prostate cancer, describing not just its clinical impact, but the profound emotional, psychological, relational, and spiritual consequences of this life-changing event. His engaging memoir will help patients and their loved ones to understand the impact of the disease in all its dimensions, and allow a more open discussion of this cancer which affects 1 in 6 men today.

A statement by the American Journal of Nursing about the book and award said, “Pynn provides a thoughtful, straightforward commentary on the debilitating and disabling effects of prostate cancer. He provides an insider’s perspective of the struggles of living with this disease and delivers an easy-to-read guide to help readers navigate the realities of detection, diagnosis, and treatment.”

Roxanne Willis, consulting editor and research collaborator on One Man’s Life-Changing Diagnosis, said, “I was honored to work on a project of such importance to prostate cancer patients and their families. Pynn and worked together to discern the most important facts that a newly-diagnosed patient needs to know about the history and treatment of his disease. Pynn’s willingness to share the emotional and psychological turmoil he experienced in the face of his diagnosis is a bold step forward for older men, who have long felt that they had to tough it out alone. Together, we worked to make the story of one-man’s cancer interesting, educational, and accessible to the increasingly numbers of diverse men who will be diagnosed with this complicated cancer in the near future.”

About the American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Awards

The American Journal of Nursing is the oldest and most honored broad-based nursing journal in the world. Peer reviewed and evidence-based, it is considered the profession’s premier journal. Since 1969, the American Journal of Nursing (AJN) has published an annual list of the best in nursing publishing.  The AJN Book of the Year program is a prestigious competition that garners the attention of its readers, as well as librarians and faculty.  Today, books about health or health care that are authored by non-nurses are also submitted for consideration and the Journal has added a consumer health category as well.

About Demos Health

In September, 2007, Demos Medical Publishing launched the imprint Demos Health, to further the company’s mission of bridging the gap between consumers and the health care community, and to provide the most up-to-date information on a wide range of health-related topics. Demos Health aims to provide the highest quality books on the consumer health market.
About Craig Pynn

Craig T. Pynn was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in 2009, and has since become a leading advocate for prostate cancer patients. You can find him on Twitter @Craigpynn or on his blog at http://navigatingPCa.com.

About Roxanne Willis

Roxanne Willis, PhD, is a freelance writer and editor and the author of Alaska’s Place in the West: From the Last Frontier to the Last Great Wilderness. She lives and works in Chicago. You can find her on Twitter at @roxannewillis.