For The Love of George - Book

The starting point for this blog was a conversation with my son, George, in the middle of his battle with osteosarcoma. I’d had been immersed in reading about treatments, supplements, theories and he thought that it would be good to share that knowledge with other people. We talked about it for a while and he came up with some ideas for a logo, we talked about the domain name and so on. It was typical George, thinking about the future, coming up with plans and schemes. The other web site he was really keen on starting was eat positive, that was one he was really keen on and I’m glad that I’ve managed to kick that off in a very low key sort of way too. Unfortunately not every story has a happy ending, and George did not live to see either of these sites become real. And of course after his death we created the George Pantziarka TP53 Trust to support other individuals and families afflicted with Li Fraumeni Syndrome in the same way that he was.

But for all this activity, I do sometimes worry that people will lose sight of who George was. He was a kid who suffered three different cancers, and who tried just about every treatment available before finally succumbing to the disease at the age of 17. It’s a painful story, but one that is common to families with LFS, or to families with a child with cancer. It’s a story that needs telling. And to that end my wife, Irene Kappes, has written a book called ‘For The Love of George’. I’ll be honest, it’s not an easy read. It doesn’t have a happy ending, though we all hope that what we are doing in his name can make something positive out of what he went through.

We worry that the book is harrowing and will scare some people, but then how can we make clear what families with LFS have to go through if we’re not honest? The only way is to show what George was like. To show what a fantastic kid he was, how we had good times even when the medical situation was grim, and to hope that there things in the book that people can learn from.

A portion of the proceeds from the book will go into the Trust.

The book is available on Kindle and as hard copy from Amazon.

In the UK: Kindle or Paperback

In the US: Kindle or Paperback