World Cancer Day

World Cancer Day is an international day observed every February 4th to raise awareness about cancer, encourage its prevention, and mobilize action to address the global cancer epidemic. Cancer touches countless lives, and books about it can offer understanding, comfort, and hope. The following titles explore the many dimensions of cancer—its medical challenges, emotional journeys, and stories of resilience—from both patients and those who care for them.

Updated November 3, 2025
F
Fond du Lac Public Library
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Mailman : my wild ride delivering the mail in Appalachia and finally finding home
Grant, Stephen Starring
Paper Book
An exuberant, hilarious, and profound memoir by a mailman in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, who found that working for the post office saved his life, taught him who he was, gave him purpose, and educated him deeply about a country he loves but had lost touch with. ...
A fatal inheritance : how a family misfortune revealed a deadly medical mystery
Ingrassia, Lawrence
Audiobook
This changes everything : a surprisingly funny story about race, cancer, faith, and other things we don't talk about
Merritt, Tyler
*NATIONAL BESTSELLER* A cancer diagnosis caused Tyler Merritt--beloved author of I Take My Coffee Black--to realize that there was no time for anger, unforgiveness, foolishness, or lost friendships. None of us have any time to waste.
Nearly departed : adventures in loss, cancer, and other inconveniences : a memoir
Pfeffer, Gila
2024 Winner of the Gilda Prize, Story Circle Network's Women's Book Awards A Reading Group Choices Favorite Nonfiction Book of 2024 "A sharp, funny, and heartfelt memoir of losing both parents to cancer and the daring choices Gila Pfeffer made to avoid the...
This ordinary stardust : a scientist's path from grief to wonder
Townsend, Alan R.
"[A] remarkable account of a shifting consciousness" - Publisher's Weekly, starred review "An extraordinary, powerful book" - David Quammen, author of The Heartbeat of the Wild and Breathless A compassionate exploration of...
How to lose your mother : a daughter's memoir
Jong-Fast, Molly
Paper Book
Instant New York Times Bestseller "With propulsive humor and perspective on her annus horribilis, Jong-Fast achieves the memoir's transformative work of alchemy, arming us all with lines so good you won't just want to underline them, you will want to cut them out to share." --...
All the way to the river : love, loss, and liberation
Gilbert, Elizabeth
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AN OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK "A delicious mashup of narrative that's by turns harrowing and healing." -People "Entertaining, insightful, wrenching ... punch-to-the-gut powerful." -The Washington Post
The general and Julia : a novel
Clinch, Jon
Paper Book
Longlisted for the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award Ulysses S. Grant reflects on the crucial moments of his life as a husband, a father, a general, and a president while writing his memoirs and reckoning with his complicated legacy in this epic and intimate work...
A family matter : a novel
Lynch, Claire
What Does It Feel Like
Kinsella, Sophie.
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK * From #1 bestselling author Sophie Kinsella, an unforgettable story--by turns heartbreaking and life-affirming--of a renowned novelist facing a devastating diagnosis and learning to live and love anew. "The bravest book you'll read all...
Been wrong so long it feels like right
Mosley, Walter
Paper Book
In the latest from "mystery master" Walter Mosley, a family member's terminal illness leads P.I. Joe King Oliver to the investigation of his life: tracking down his long-lost father, and meanwhile, a new case pits King's professional responsibility against his own moral code. (The...
Four weekends and a funeral : a novel
Palmer, Ellie
Ebook
By the author of Anywhere With You, Ellie Palmer, this "cozy affirmation for introverts and homebodies" (Abby Jimenez) about a little white lie that spirals out of control is "the perfect romantic comedy" (Meredith Schorr). She found the right guy at the dead wrong time...
Maggie; or, a man and a woman walk into a bar
Yee, Katie

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.