Book Description
Each year, around the world, over one million women will be told they have breast cancer. All will face surgery, and most will undergo radiation, chemotherapy and hormonal treatment. In the months and years that follow treatment, women are left with nagging questions, questions they often are afraid to ask:When will I know for sure that I am cured? Shouldn't my doctor be doing more follow-up testing?What are the real figures on breast cancer survival for women treated today?How would I know if I had a recurrence?How do I answer family and friends who think I worry too much?Do other women ever feel the way I do, and how do they cope?Throughout the book are the warm and wise voices of over 40 other women who have been through this same tough journey of tears, fears and triumph.
After Breast Cancer: Answers to the Questions You're to Afraid to Ask FROM THE PUBLISHER
Each year, over 200,000 women in the US will be told they have breast cancer. All face surgery, and most undergo radiation, chemotherapy and hormonal treatment. But the worry isn't over when treatment ends. Women are left with nagging questions, questions they often are afraid to ask: When will I know that I am cured? Shouldn't my doctor be doing more follow-up testing? What are the real figures on breast cancer survival today? How would I know if I had a recurrence? How do I answer loved ones who think I worry too much? How do other women cope?
Author and 14 year breast cancer survivor Musa Mayer talks frankly about the feelings of uncertainty and fear that breast cancer patients commonly face after treatment. She reviews scientific literature on survival statistics and explains what is known about follow-up visits and testing. Devoting several chapters to emotional recovery, she offers advice about how to tackle fears through information and support. Throughout the book are the warm and wise voices of 40 women who have been through this same tough journey of tears, fears and triumph.
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
For the two million women living today after treatment for breast cancer, mention of the disease often elicits the response, "Been there; done that; don't want to do it again." Mayer, a counselor, activist, and contributor to publications such as MAMM magazine, felt the same after her diagnosis in 1989. But having researched the disease, she knew other women were at sea regarding their feelings and concerns about what happens next. Are they cured? Is the breast cancer gone? Will it recur? In an attempt to demonstrate the universality of these concerns, Mayer includes comments from women who are veterans of the breast cancer campaign. She also offers up statistic upon statistic of the current state of breast cancer and survivorship-perhaps too many, as the picture seems a bit more muddled after reading this than before. Ultimately, Mayer encourages women to be thoughtful, not tormented; they should let their bodies tell them if something is wrong. Breast cancer patients are basically all in the same boat. Mayer's final advice is to grab an oar and keep rowing. For comprehensive patient-health collections.-Bette-Lee Fox, "Library Journal" Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
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