Oncologist Hirshaut and surgeon Pressman form a specialized team of renowned authority on the treatment of breast cancer. Their book--a winner of The American Medical Writers Association's Rose Kushner Award--serves as "an additional expert by your side," providing a backstage look at the essence of breast cancer. Written for women diagnosed with breast cancer or concerned about the possibility of developing it, the guide is separated into four informative yet nonthreatening sections: "From Suspicion to Diagnosis," "Treatment," "After the Treatment," and "Life After Cancer."

The authors clarify terminology and treatment jargon that's often lost on the layperson. For instance, fibroadenomas are described as "an orderly growth of cells, confined to the breast, that results in benign, movable, and rounded lumps." The TNM system of staging is clarified as this: "the conditions Tumor, lymph Nodes and Metastasis are taken into account to determine the stage at which the cancer has been found; staging is a vital tool in measuring risk and choosing treatment."

Descriptions and illustrations help explain presurgical procedures, again providing an insider's knowledge into what to expect beyond what is usually provided by a regular physician. Additionally, in a chapter dedicated solely to prevention, the doctors explore factors that may be related to the disease's onset such as heredity, race, diet, vitamins and minerals, alcohol, caffeine, smoking, radiation exposure and other environmental causes, as well as hormones, birth control pills, and hormone replacement therapy.

The guide concludes with a NABCO (National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations) resource list including numerous offices and phone numbers in each state. Want to know more about breast cancer diagnosis and treatment? This guide may very well serve as the next best thing to an on-call physician, providing clear explanations to questions--whether general or specific--via a detailed index and 17 well-organized chapters. --Cate Bick


From Publishers Weekly
One of every nine women in the U.S. today will be diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime, up from an estimated one in 15 in 1975246 . Should that disease afflict you or someone you know, this manual by Hirshaut, an oncologist, and Pressman, a surgeon, will serve as a step-by-step companion, from diagnosis and treatment to life after the disease. The authors effectively combine accurate, up-to-date medical facts with brief narratives from women who have overcome the disease. Their guide is thorough and intelligent, written to give women a clear sense of the potentially bewildering choices that will face them: needle aspiration or open biopsy70-71 , lumpectomy or mastectomy117 , chemotherapy or hormone therapy. Not all the news is bad: more than 75% of malignant lumps are found by women themselves. Hirshaut and Pressman explain the technique involved in this procedure and what signs to look for47 . They also sketch the social and political contexts of the illness. For example, last year, more than 44,000 women died of breast cancer--and yet the NIH withdrew funding for a study that would have explored the link between dietary fat and breast cancer, due to budget restrictions. Somehow there was, however, enough money to give the Pentagon $29 billion. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Recent breast cancer statistics are frightening: It is the most common cancer in women, striking one out of every nine in the United States today. This new guide, written by an oncologist and a surgeon, gives comprehensive, up-to-date, and highly detailed information on everything from the first suspicion, through diagnosis and treatments, to follow-up care and recurrence. This step-by-step method serves to demystify the process of treating breast cancer, while the advice from women who have "been there" helps bring the message home. From selecting the best doctor to describing procedures and treatments, the authors answer all possible questions in a calm, rational manner. Of particular value is the recommendation that patients have a "personal advocate" during appointments and procedures. This book is the best of a recent flurry of books on breast cancer (e.g., Paul Keuhn's Breast Care Options for the 1990's , LJ 8/91; Renee Royak-Schaler and Beryl Lieff Benderly's Challenging the Breast Cancer Legacy , LJ 4/1/92). Highly recommended. Librarians should note that this October will be National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.--Ed.- Janet M. Coggan, Univ. of Florida Libs., GainesvilleCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Book News, Inc.
A popular book on prevention, detection, treatment, recovery and cure, detailing the therapy options and combinations. Gives resources available to women in the US and Canada. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.


Review
"A definitive guidebook . . . in this highly regarded source, the authors--a medical oncologist and a surgical oncologist--provide both the support and every scrap of the information a woman needs to get the right treatment from the right doctor."
--New York Times

"Both timely and current . . . [It] discusses the most common cancer in women in a precise, clear, and positive way, providing essential information in a warm, supportive fashion in a readable and understandable format."
--Journal of the National Cancer Institute

"These experts demystify breast cancer in understandable and compassionate terms . . .. Should help hundreds of thousands of women."
--James F. Holland, MD, Distinguished Professor of Neoplastic Diseases, The Mount Sinai Medical Center

"Comprehensive, up-to-date, and highly detailed . . . From selecting the best doctors to describing procedures and treatments, the wuthors answer all possible questions in a calm, rational manner . . . . Highly recommended."
--Library Journal


Review
?It should be required reading for everyone who is touched by the disease, whether personally or through a family member, friend, colleague, employee, or a patient diagnosed with breast cancer.... I can?t recommend it enough.?
? Today?s OR Nurse

?These experts demystify breast cancer in understandable and compassionate terms.... Should help hundreds of thousands of women.?
? James F. Holland, M.D. Chairman, Department of Neoplastic Diseases, Mount Sinai Medical Center

?Both timely and current ? [It] discusses the most common cancer in women in a precise, clear, and positive way, providing essential information in a warm, supportive fashion in a readable and understandable format.?
? Journal of the National Cancer Institute

?Comprehensive, up-to-date, and highly detailed ... From selecting the best doctors to describing procedures and treatments, the authors answer all possible questions in a calm, rational manner.... Highly recommended.?
? Library Journal

?Every woman is touched by the reality of breast cancer ? by the fear of it or the fact of it.... Drs. Pressman and Hirshaut have written the essential guide, one that should be required reading for every woman.?
? Barbara Gordon author of I?m Dancing as Fast as I Can

?This is a humane, compassionate book which nonetheless manages to be straightforward and comprehensive; the authors have succeeded in addressing the many questions (and the fears) of breast cancer patients, and have done a thorough and sensitive job.?
? Share

ANNOTATION

"This award-winning guide presents the most current information, taking the reader from the warning signs to remission...provides lists of additional resources, including support services in Canada."

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Written by two renowned authorities who specialize in the treatment of breast cancer, a surgeon and an oncologist, this is the one indispensable book women need in order to cope with a disease that will strike one out of every nine of them in the United States. Now revised to bring readers the very latest information on diagnosis and treatment, this lucid step-by-step guide contains all the latest information women require if they are to collaborate with their doctors in making truly informed decisions about the care that is right for them.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

Recent breast cancer statistics are frightening: It is the most common cancer in women, striking one out of every nine in the United States today. This new guide, written by an oncologist and a surgeon, gives comprehensive, up-to-date, and highly detailed information on everything from the first suspicion, through diagnosis and treatments, to follow-up care and recurrence. This step-by-step method serves to demystify the process of treating breast cancer, while the advice from women who have ``been there'' helps bring the message home. From selecting the best doctor to describing procedures and treatments, the authors answer all possible questions in a calm, rational manner. Of particular value is the recommendation that patients have a ``personal advocate'' during appointments and procedures. This book is the best of a recent flurry of books on breast cancer (e.g., Paul Keuhn's Breast Care Options for the 1990's , LJ 8/91; Renee Royak-Schaler and Beryl Lieff Benderly's Challenging the Breast Cancer Legacy , LJ 4/1/92). Highly recommended. Librarians should note that this October will be National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.--Ed.-- Janet M. Coggan, Univ. of Florida Libs., Gainesville

Booknews

A popular book on prevention, detection, treatment, recovery and cure, detailing the therapy options and combinations. Gives resources available to women in the US and Canada. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

John Langone - New York Times