Much has been written about human survival in the face of bleak odds, but I return to the philosopher Friedrich Nietzche, who also said, He who has a why to live for, can bear almost any how of existence.' This sentiment was echoed by Dr. Viktor Frankl, one of last century's most important psychiatrists, himself an Auschwitz survivor, who expressed the spiritual and psychological aspects of survival in his book Man's Search For Meaning when talking about Auschwitz survivors. Woe to him who saw no more sense in his life, no aim, no purpose, and therefore no point in carrying on. He was soon lost.' Surviving Cancer is a stimulating and inspiring book of personal stories of survival -- Professor Emeritus Gabriel Kune, MD, FRCS,