The Fight for His Life

Author, Family Battle Disease and Challenge Politics in the Face of Survival

As the political turmoil surrounding stem cells rages on, one man remains unyielding, tethered to the fight - and treatment - that saved his life. John E. McNamara's autobiography, "Stem Cells Cancer & Me" (published by AuthorHouse - http://www.authorhouse.com), recounts the courageous five-year battle the author and his family fought with a rare form of cancer.

Settling into a comfortable retirement with his wife, Marian, in the sleepy town of Erwin, N.C., McNamara devoted himself to his family and volunteer work. However, the author's contented life was disrupted in November 2001, when a doctor's visit revealed that what McNamara had thought to be a common cold was actually multiple myeloma, a rare and incurable form of cancer affecting the blood-producing cells in the bone marrow.

Fraught with grief and uncertainty and plagued by life-altering decisions, McNamara looked to the support of his family and a team of gifted physicians. Armed with information and his wife in the role of diligent caregiver, McNamara eschewed standard treatments, including chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, in favor of a more controversial, yet cutting-edge line of attack: stem cell treatment. McNamara's resilience paid off when, after years of debilitating sickness, the transplant of clean stem cells was successful.

An inspirational story for anyone, especially those about to embark on a journey through illness, McNamara's book opens the door into a world where one disease changes the lives of everyone it touches.

"My wife and I fought one of the storms of life and won," says McNamara. "If one life is saved because someone willing to ... fight reads the book, it has been well worth the effort."

McNamara moved to North Carolina from his home in New England when he retired from his job in HVAC wholesale. His work as a teacher for the Harnett County Literacy Association earned him a North Carolina Volunteer Award, which was presented to McNamara days after his cancer diagnosis. McNamara is also a life member and past commander of VFW Post 6767 in Dunn, N.C. He and his wife have three children.