Arts-Entertainment
Local author Rick Lamplugh offers a powerful and deeply personal account of resilience and partnership in The Wilds of Cancer: A Life-Affirming Journey. The book chronicles Lamplugh’s experience with aggressive prostate cancer and the path he and his wife, Mary, traveled together through diagnosis, treatment, and recovery.
At its core, the book is a love story and survival guide that highlights the strength of a couple as they navigate one of life’s most difficult challenges: a life-threatening illness.
Through engaging true stories, Lamplugh shares honest reflections about the emotional and physical realities of living with cancer, including the fear, uncertainty, and vulnerability that often accompany such a diagnosis. He also describes unexpected moments of hope that emerged as he and Mary worked together to face each stage of treatment. Their experience reveals how resilience and support can grow even in the most uncertain circumstances.
A key part of the book focuses on the couple’s holistic approach to coping with the illness. Alongside traditional medical treatment, Lamplugh describes how they incorporated research, dietary changes, physical activity, rest, a positive attitude, and time spent in nature in Montana into their strategy for healing and maintaining balance.
Rather than presenting an idealized version of the experience, the book offers a candid perspective from the patient’s point of view. Lamplugh speaks openly about the challenges of treatment and its side effects while highlighting the importance of hope and human connection.
The Wilds of Cancer is written for readers facing their own health challenges as well as spouses, family members, and friends supporting someone through illness. The narrative offers reassurance that even in the most difficult circumstances, moments of strength and clarity can be found.
Rick Lamplugh writes with compassion and honesty, creating a narrative that reminds readers that serious illness does not erase the beauty of life or the power of love. Through The Wilds of Cancer, he offers encouragement and insight for anyone navigating the uncertain path of serious disease.
The book is available wherever books are sold. To view on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0h41H0Ks.
For review copies, interview requests, or additional information, please contact: Rick Lamplugh by emailing ricklamplugh@gmail.com or calling 541-760-3832.
What Healthcare Professionals Say About The Wilds of Cancer:
“As a physician, I wish I could prescribe this book. Rick Lamplugh’s journey through his treatment of prostate cancer is a masterclass in patient empowerment.” Keith R. Holden, M.D., publisher of Prostate Cancer Secrets (Substack)
“As both a Urologist and fellow patient, I saw myself in these pages. This book captures one man's journey with honesty and grace. It shows how walking in nature can help us breathe, quiet the noise, and bring clarity to hard decisions.” Thomas Green, M.D., publisher of Urologist with Prostate Cancer (Substack
“The Wilds of Cancer is just what the doctor ordered! Rick Lamplugh provides the reader with a unique view of cancer from the time of diagnosis through treatment—all from the perspective of the patient.” Kendall Child, Nurse Practitioner
“As an oncologist, I see every day how healing depends on more than medicine. Rick Lamplugh captures this truth beautifully in The Wilds of Cancer. He brings us into the raw moments of cancer treatment while showing how time outdoors, a steady mindset, and daily practices like diet, rest, and exercise can help carry a person through. This book is both a story and a guide — one that patients, families, and even doctors will learn from.” Daniel Flora, M.D., publisher of Curative (Substack).
Rick Lamplugh’s Previous Books
The Wilds of Aging: A Journey of Heart and Mind—described by reviewers as “piercing and poetic” and “a wonderful and moving read”—takes you on an illuminating journey into the wilds of aging, a passage we all face if we’re lucky. The book won the National Indie Excellence Award and was a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards.
Deep into Yellowstone: A Year’s Immersion in Grandeur and Controversy captures the park's grandeur while delving into key environmental controversies. It won a Gold Medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY Awards), was a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and in the National Indie Excellence Awards, and won an Honorable Mention in the Eric Hoffer Book Awards and in the INDIES Book Awards.
In the Temple of Wolves: A Winter’s Immersion in Wild Yellowstone was an Amazon best seller with more than 500 Five-Star reviews. The book is about the wolves and ecology of Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley and Rick’s experience of living and volunteering there for three winters. It was a Montaigne Medal Finalist and won second place in the Reader Views Literary Awards.