Being Patient by Na’ama Carlin

Na’ama Carlin, Louise Chappell and Siobhan O’Sullivan all received the diagnosis people dread cancer. Working in universities, these three women knew how to speak up. But in Cancer World, their voices were often unheard. As they negotiated medical hierarchies, ‘scanxiety’, gender bias, ongoing treatments and confronting diagnoses, they met others who felt the same.

In Being Patient, Na’ama, Louise and Siobhan share their own stories and talk to people about their experiences as patients and carers in Cancer World. Including stories from cancer experts oncologists, GPs, nurses, surgeons, radiologists and researchers Being Patient is unflinching and uplifting and offers unvarnished views of living with cancer from ‘both sides of the desk’.

‘This bracingly honest account of Cancer World will make for better lives, and better treatment.’ Andrew Denton

‘Being Patient is a beautiful, clear and important window into the experience of those diagnosed with cancer. The authors write with openness and honesty and provide practical and useful recommendations to improve cancer care. Through interviews with cancer patients, family members and healthcare professionals, a compelling argument for the power of kindness, deep listening, inclusion and clear communication in cancer treatment emerges. A must-read for anyone involved in researching or treating cancer, or for those looking to understand the experience of having cancer.’ Professor Caroline Ford, Strategic Director of the Ainsworth Endometriosis Research Institute

‘This deeply moving book opens the “black box” of Cancer World through powerful conversations with patients, caregivers, and clinicians. Honest, compassionate, and free of blame or shame, it offers language and insight to navigate diagnosis and care and should be essential reading for those newly facing cancer as well as for students and experienced professionals seeking a deeper understanding of the lived experience of cancer.’ Professor Ophira Ginsburg, Founding Chair of The Lancet Commission on Women, Power, and Cancer, Provost’s Visiting Professor of Global Cancer Equity, Imperial College London

‘You don’t need to be a goody two-shoes if you’re receiving cancer care. In fact, as this uniquely insightful book will tell you among many other things sometimes it helps if you aren’t.’ Dr Norman Swan

‘Being Patient offers a rare and courageous account of cancer’s inner landscape, drawing on the authors’ own diagnoses to illuminate the trust, power, and silence that shape every patient encounter, and giving clinicians an invaluable window into what patients carry but rarely say aloud. The book’s call to reimagine Cancer World is timely, and its rich accounts remind us that many of these frustrations belong to any resource-limited, time-pressured healthcare system. These stories make a powerful case for what must follow: rigorously tested models of care, designed and measured to improve both quality of life and survival. Made all the more poignant by the loss of one of its authors, this book is a vital prompt for that harder work.’ Professor Georgina Long AO, Chair of Melanoma Medical Oncology and Translational Research at Melanoma Institute Australia and Royal North Shore Hospital, The University of Sydney

A collection of raw and illuminating stories from cancer patients and the medical professionals who treat them.

About the Author: Na’ama Carlin is an award-winning educator and a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of New South Wales.

Louise Chappell is a Scientia Professor at the University of New South Wales, where she researches gender justice in relation to politics, policy and law.

Siobhan O’Sullivan was an Associate Professor of Social Policy and Research at the University of New South Wales, where she worked on inequality, policy and animal rights.

01 May 2026
 

Being Patient: Close Encounters in Cancer World by Na’ama Carlin ISBN 9781742237916