A psychologist and cancer survivor's practical playbook for building resilience, strengthening your mindset, and facing treatment with confidence — and hope.
Empowering Cancer Warriors
Train your mind. Strengthen your spirit. Play to win the cancer challenge.
When life throws you into the toughest game of all — cancer — you soon discover it's not just your body in the fight, but your mind too.
Psychologist Carla Fotev has walked this path herself. Through surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and the rollercoaster of recovery, she learned that resilience isn't something you simply have — it's something you can train for.
Drawing on her professional expertise, humour, and honesty, Carla shares the psychological and practical strategies that helped her stay strong, sane, and even smiling through treatment. Written in a warm, conversational tone, ChemRad Mind Games invites you to view cancer treatment as the ultimate sport — with the cancer warrior as the elite athlete.
ChemRad Mind Games reveals how the power of your mind can shape your experience and even your healing. It's not just about surviving the game — it's about learning how to play it well and coming out stronger and more resilient.
Just as elite athletes prepare mentally as well as physically, cancer warriors can build the psychological skills to stay focused, resilient and hopeful. The book moves through three stages:
Part One
Getting mentally and emotionally fit for what lies ahead — preparing your mind before treatment begins.
Part Two
Using focus and mental "gaming" strategies to stay in the fight through surgery, chemo, radiotherapy and beyond — and play to win.
Part Three
Adjusting, celebrating, and embracing your new normal after treatment — finding your feet and your purpose again.
"Courage isn't the absence of fear — it's choosing to keep moving forward despite it."
The Author of ChemRad Mind Games, Carla is the Director of the Emergency Support Network Pty Ltd. This company specialises in People Risk Management, providing services to local government, government and private organisations in HR consulting, training, peer support products and workplace investigation services. Visit Emergency Support Network →
From psychologists, and from cancer warriors who have walked the road themselves.
Written with compassion and humour. Inspiring, constructive and mind-altering. This book shares Carla's story and clinical knowledge so that others can regain some sense of control and take action in the face of potential life threatening situations. A well recommended read.
If you are looking for an effectively concise, 'easy to read' but psychologically sound narrative and handbook on how to embody the 'Cancer Warrior' when combatting 'Terrible, the Terrorist Tumor', Carla Fotev's 'ChemRad Mind Games' endeavours to optimally resource and strategically encourage substantial empowerment throughout an individual's cancer journey.
In having humbly shared aspects of her own personal cancer journey, Carla's capacity to impart her professional knowledge of psychological constructs and their practical application for anyone who may be directly, intimately or indirectly involved with cancer journeys, remains commendable. It has been successfully written with validity and conviction, enhancing its valuableness.
I am honoured to have been asked to review this book and proud to call Carla one of my dearest friends and colleagues, whose experiences and wisdom as shared throughout will no doubt assist to 'lighten the load' for those experiencing various cancer diagnoses, treatments, psycho-emotional upheaval and recovery.
While every individual's cancer experience is unique, this book includes insights that really help explain the process, and provides universal strategies to help you work through treatment and beyond. In my experience, the cancer 'journey' is highly personal and you might tend to guard this dark secret to save yourself and others from being hurt. You might feel like the things going through your head are crazy, lazy or just unreasonable. You might feel quite alone and vulnerable, even when you're in the best medical hands.
I didn't know what to ask or who to ask without feeling needy or stupid. I didn't know that what I was feeling was not uncommon, and I didn't know there were strategies that could help. If only there were a book to help you sort out that fog, help you feel a little bit more normal in an abnormal situation and a little bit less vulnerable!
Everyone's journey is somewhat similar but at the same time very different. Very well-meaning friends and family keep telling you to stay positive, probably because they don't really know what else to say. But, as some dark days frequented my reality, I had trouble figuring out what 'positive' really was, for the mind takes you to many places that you don't really want to go.
This book can help you navigate your journey. It provides strategies and techniques to help you find THAT POSITIVE. It reads with clarity, it's very relatable and with a tone of resilience and genuine empathy. It is a testament to courage, hope, and life.
Being a Mum and having a daughter diagnosed 2 months before me with breast cancer, I put being a mum first and cancer second. I didn't really give myself the time to think about me, and this book has highlighted to me the importance of someone going through cancer/treatment to take the time to put themselves first and what they need and want to support them through their personal journey.
I wish I had known what was out there to have made my journey somewhat easier and after reading this book I know this will help that someone along the way as their thoughts/emotions/body endures what it needs to heal.
Available now in paperback from these retailers worldwide.
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"This is a community where we celebrate every victory — big or small — and remind one another that none of us has to face this journey alone."
— Carla Fotev
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