In the year 2000, Stephen Graham King was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive cancer known as synovial sarcoma, beginning a four-year ordeal of radiation, chemotherapy, physiotherapy, and multiple recurrences. After having trouble with his left knee for much of his adult life, King finally saw a doctor following a bump to the leg that almost made him pass out from the excruciating pain. After the diagnosis, he endured five major, invasive surgeries that cost him a large portion of his left leg and half of his left lung, radically changing his body, mind, and self-image forever. And in the end, forcing him to relearn many things: some as basic as re-learning how to walk. As a gay man who is part of an image-conscious subculture within our image-driven society, he was forced to confront his feelings about his body on the long road back to health. Now, in
Just Breathe
, King shares his journey from health to illness and back to health again through prose and journal entries written during the battle. Told with candour and humour, this is the story of his challenging recovery and the love of life, friends, and family that helped him to survive.