The Man in the Bandana: An Oncology Patient's Story in First Person

In the world, there has long been an epidemic of cancer. The disease can touch anyone without any visible reason. In oncology, uncertainty is part of the diagnosis.

How do you accept what can’t be changed?

Alexander Belyaev is a music journalist who was diagnosed with stomach cancer. In the book, he tells his story—about the operation and chemotherapy. The diagnosis and treatment of cancer cannot be simple or easy, and no patient knows what awaits them on this path.

Describing his life—as a patient and as a journalist—and giving examples of other people, the author comes to a paradoxical conclusion: the illness made him physically disabled, but morally he became better.

The book “A Man in a Headscarf” (during chemotherapy, patients lose their hair and are forced to tie their heads with a scarf) was originally created as a series of detailed diary entries, but after a year it was shaped into a narrative with a clear plot.

The author’s personal experience can be useful to those who have cancer patients in their families, or who are sick themselves. How to endure visits to medical institutions, indifference and bureaucracy, complicated treatment, and more…

But even after the diagnosis, life continues. It’s just going to be totally different now.