Product Description

This new series from Chicken Soup for the Soul - inspirational stories followed by positive, practical medical advice for caregivers and patients - is the perfect blend of emotional support and vital information on breast cancer including:

• understanding your diagnosis
• working with your doctor
• talking with friends and family
• treatment options
• from baldness to breastforms
• emotional healing
• conquering side effects
• alternative therapies
• finding support groups
• thriving with breast cancer
  

Chicken Soup for the Soul partners with top doctors to give you the information you need to survive-and the positive inspiration to thrive. Each book features beautifully written stories plus information on diet, lifestyle, diagnosis, procedures, caregiving, emotional issues and alternative therapies from some of the world's foremost experts.

Product Description

Tailoring treatment for individual breast cancers is no longer a dream and is now the main goal for current research. This book gives an overview of the most recent techniques, agents and approaches for breast cancer and the individualization of treatment. Particular attention is given to organ-specific tailored approaches, specific populations, patients’ preferences and rehabilitation. Contributions from experts focus on the biomedical research behind the transfer of molecular biology knowledge into the clinical management of patients. This has led to increased survival as well as improved quality of life. The book gives an overview of the latest achievements in breast cancer and their use in clinical practice.

Customer Reviews (1)

excellent book
A book of good quality giving a general idea on modern breast cancer management linked to molecular medicine ... Read more

Product Description
This unique and important guidebook is a single, comprehensive source of information and advice to help women (and some men) at high risk for breast and for ovarian cancer because of family history and genetic profile. One part memoir, three parts 'how to' manual, this book explains in a clear and steady manner the myths and realities of 'the breast cancer genes'. It lays out all the options in easy-to-follow, compassionate language. It will help women and men to decide if they want to pursue genetic testing, guide them in interpreting their test results, and give them a sound basis for making the life-saving decisions required to manage their risks. Authors Joi Morris and Dr Ora Karp Gordon cover all of the latest medical options, including genetic testing for breast cancer risk, breast cancer surveillance, assessing risk, mastectomy and breast reconstruction ovarian cancer surveillance, surgery, managing menopause, and cancer risks in men who carry mutations on BRCA genes. Along the way, Joi tells her personal story and that of other women and men who have made the gut-wrenching decisions required to survive in this world of astronomical risk. At the age of forty-two, Joi learned that she has a genetic mutation on a gene known as BRCA2. The test results meant that her risk of getting breast cancer could be as high as 84 percent by age seventy, and that her risk for ovarian cancer was also high. Compounding her risk was the fact that her mother had developed breast cancer in her forties. After much research and consultation, the result of which is this book, Joi made the difficult decision of undergoing prophylactic mastectomies. This straight-forward and practical approach combined with the poignant personal experience of a woman at risk facing these challenging decisions will provide readers with the feeling that they have had the benefit of a long conversation with both a trusted physician and a friend who has just gone through the same uncertainties they are facing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

The Power of Positive Results
There is a wealth of information about the genes for hereditary breast cancer and ovarian cancer. There is also a wealth of information about risk management and options available to those who are afflicted with breast or ovarian cancer. But there's no single reference that summarizes it all in an easy-to-understand guide until now, with Joi L. Morris and Ora K. Gordon's //Positive Results: Making the Best Decisions When you're at High Risk for Breast or Ovarian Cancer//.

In what is considered a courageous, generous, open, honest, compassionate, and daring book, Morris and Gordon have assembled their experience and expertise in a single book that aims to help women all over the world whose lives are affected by breast and ovarian cancer. Morris is a cancer survivor. And Gordon is a doctor. Together, they have pooled their talent and know-how to come up with //Positive Results// to give light and hope and courage to countless women who are battling a life-threatening medical condition.

//Positive Results//, long overdue, demystifies the breast cancer journey, and provides a road map to guide, teach, inspire and comfort. It is an inspiring, empowering, enlightening, amazing, and for many women, a life-saving resource. Women with breast or ovarian cancer, their doctors and caregivers, and each and every single one of their family and friends -- should all read this book.

Reviewed by Dominique James

A must-read for anyone affected by BRCA
This book walks a difficult line and does it with great success. Joi Morris delves into complex, scientific topics, yet the writing is clear and easy to understand. She tells the painful stories of a number of people affected by BRCA, without ever going down self-pity road. She also covers a vast amount of material, but the book remains friendly and highly accessible rather than overwhelming.
I wish Positive Results had been available a few years earlier as I would have used it to help me make my own tough choices. Joi Morris has done a wonderful service for everyone dealing with a high risk of breast cancer.

Read this book!!
Read this book BEFORE you consult your doctor about genetic counseling for BRCA 1 & 2!!
You'll be better prepared, emotionally and factually, to discuss the pros and cons of
testing and to leave with a more comprehensive understanding that will guide your decision-
making.This book should be REQUIRED reading by the counselor and/or physician before
you meet with them!Many, many thanks to the co-authors for a much needed resource
for patients and their families.

Provides the author's personal experiences with the latest medical possibilities
POSITIVE RESULTS: MAKING THE BEST DECISIONS WHEN YOU'RE AT HIGH RISK FOR BREAST OR OVARIAN CANCER provides a unique guidebook to help women with family history and genetic profiles adding to their cancer risk factors. It covers all the latest medical options, including genetic testing and assessing risk factors, and provides the author's personal experiences with the latest medical possibilities.

A gem for anyone enduring breast cancer
"This book provides a unique personal and professional viewpoint on breast cancer.As a psychologist specializing in breast cancer treatment from an emotional perspective, I would highly recommend this book to anyone".
Kellie Nash, Ph.D. ... Read more

Product Description
Although the rates of breast cancer have escalatedfrom one in 20 four decades ago to one in 8 todaystill, the cancer establishment insists that we have turned the tide against breast cancer.Not so, say the authors of this groundbreaking book, and they back their claim with the most thorough analysis of all known and suspected causes of breast cancer yet undertaken.What they reveal is the heartening news that breast cancer is preventablenews ignored by the cancer establishmentand that its rise is directly related to an out-of-control spread of the very factors that increase our risk of breast cancer: from environmental and workplace carcinogens to unhealthy lifestyle choices, from hormones pumped into commercial livestock to estrogenic medications, from premenopausal mammography to cosmetics and household hazards.For the first time, this book exposes all the causes of breast cancer and lays out all the possible preventive measures.The good news is theres plenty every woman can do to keep this dread disease at bay, and The Breast Cancer Prevention Program provides a fascinating, informative, and empowering blueprint for health. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A Worthy Read
I just finished this book today and found it very useful. The authors presented many helpful facts and cited many credible research trials and journal articles to support their points.I did not find the book to be inflammatory or alarmist, just filled with useful, practical and illuminating tips about what women can do to lower their risk for breast cancer. I admire the book's "prevention" approach: why wait for breast cancer to appear before getting into action? So many of the book's suggestions contribute to overall health in general, it just makes good sense to follow them.

I was concerned to find out how many elevated risk factors I already have for breast cancer (some of which I already knew, first among them being my mother's death from the disease at age 43). However, this book did make me feel that there are at least some health and environmental factors I can affect with my decisions and behavior; learning of my elevated risk only invigorates my commitment to doing all that I can in an effort not to add to those risks.

The book's expose on the dangers of mammography for premenopausal women and the elevated risks of breast cancer associated with oral contraceptives was especially eye-opening to me. It is a shame that corporate interests and profit margins in this country often seem to take precedence over good health information and awareness. Read the book in an effort to gather the most information that you can about risk factors for this disease; it will be worth your time.

Excellent book
At last, somebody who tells the horrifying truth about the American Cancer Society and how they have let us down for profit.

I would never trust anything the American Cancer Society says. They are very biased in favor of expensive pharmaceuticals with cancer-causing side-effects. They are the wealthiest "charity" in America, with cash reserves of $1 Billion.

The Role of the ACS in the War Against Cancer

The verdict is unassailable. The American Cancer Society bears a major responsibility for losing the winnable war against cancer.
The launching of the 1971 War Against Cancer provided the ACS with a well-exploited opportunity to pursue it own myopic and self-interested agenda. Its strategies remain based on two lies -- that there has been dramatic progress in the treatment and cure of cancer, and that any increase in the incidence and mortality of cancer is due to aging of the population and smoking while denying any significant role for involuntary exposures to industrial carcinogens in air, water, consumer products and the workplace.

Most of the funds raised by ACS go to pay overhead, salaries, fringe benefits, and travel expenses of its national executives in Atlanta. They also go to pay Chief Executive Officers, who earn six-figure salaries in several states, and the hundreds of other employees who work out of some 3,000 regional offices nationwide. The typical ACS affiliate, which helps raise the money for the national office, spends more than 52 percent of its budget on salaries, pensions, fringe benefits, and overhead for its own employees.

Salaries and overhead for most ACS affiliates also exceeded 50 percent, although most direct community services are handled by unpaid volunteers. DiLorenzo summed up his findings by emphasizing the hoarding of funds by the ACS.

"Most contributors believe their donations are being used to fight cancer, not to accumulate financial reserves. More progress in the war against cancer would be made if they would divest some of their real estate holdings and use the proceeds -- as well as a portion of their cash reserves -- to provide more cancer services."

Aside from high salaries and overhead, most of what is left of the ACS budget goes to basic research and research into profitable, patented cancer drugs.

The current budget of the ACS is $380 million and its cash reserves approach one billion dollars. Yet its aggressive fund-raising campaign continues to plead poverty, and lament the lack of available money for cancer research, while ignoring efforts to prevent cancer by phasing out avoidable exposures to environmental and occupational carcinogens.

Meanwhile, the ACS is silent about its intricate relationships with the wealthy cancer drug industry and chemical industries.

Read more....... http://www.corporations.org/cancer/boycottacs.html

A MUST READ TO PREVENT BREAST CANCER
If you really care about your health and TRULY PREVENTING BREAST CANCER, this book is a must read!

Dr. Epstein is a beacon of truth in explaining how we are exposed to so many toxins and pollutants that our immune systemsbreak down and can't naturally fight cancer cells.

Our current medicalapproach is WAIT UNTIL THE CANCER SHOWS UP IN A MAMMOGRAM then assult thecancer and your own immune system with poisons and surgery.Dr. Epsteinsays: Cut your exposure to toxins and strengthen your own immune system sothat you reduce your risk of ever getting cancer.

Which approach will youchose?

Wonderful thoughtful information
This book contains valuable information that the cancer establishment willnot tell you about. Dr. Epstein presents us with information that willdrastically change the way we see breast cancer prevention.It is a mustread for anyone with a history of breast cancer in thier family! ... Read more

Product Description
Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer mortality in women worldwide, and the risk of disease recurrence continues despite improvements in screening and treatment. For patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, some form of endocrine therapy is central to the management of their disease. Tamoxifen has long been the mainstay of endocrine therapy in this group of patients. However, there is mounting evidence showing that the aromatase inhibitors are able to reduce overall oestrogen levels and appear to be better tolerated over a long term than tamoxifen. New and emerging indications for the aromatase inhibitors are providing clinicans (and patients) with alternative treatment options with differing side effect profiles. Part of the Oxford Oncology Library, this pocketbook will summarise the latest evidence-based and practical information on the use of endrocrine therapies in the management of breast cancer (early stage, metastatic disease, and prevention of disease).With contributions from leading oncologists from the MD Anderson Cancer Center, the book covers the range of endocrine therapies currently available to clinicians including ovarian ablation, anti-estrogens, aromatase inhibitors, fulvestrant, progestins, androgens, and combination endocrine and chemotherapy. The book also includes useful chapters on the identification and optimal selection of patients for endocrine therapy as well as the role of endocrine treatments in the prevention of breast cancer. This book will serve as an invaluable reference for all health care professionals involved in the management of patients with breast cancer. ... Read more

Product Description
All proceeds from this notebook benefit The Weekend to End Breast Cancer to support research into finding a cure. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Thanks Engage Books!
What a wonderful concept. This book is very beautiful, and having all proceeds go to Breast Cancer, is marvelous. This book has plenty of margin space, and the lines are dark enough, but not too dark. Great for school, office, planning workouts, or meals. This book would make a perfect gift, and I wouldn't buy any other notebook. Thanks Engage Books!

What a great idea!
I just purchased 4 and these notebooks and they will be so useful and what a great cause it's for.I might have to buy more! What a great idea.

About the Weekend to End Breast Cancer
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R35EG4OQHUY8RQ The Breast Cancer Notebook benefits the Weekend to End Breast Cancer. All proceeds from every copy goes towards helping this cause. This video explais what the Weekend to Breast Cancer is, and where your money is going to. Thanks for your support.

Breast Cancer Journal (All Proceeds from this Notebook Benefit The Weekend to End Breast Cancer to Support Research into Finding a Cure) Engage Books ... Read more

Product Description
Part of the Jones and Bartlett Survivorship Series. Series Editor: Lisa Kennedy Sheldon, PhD, APRN-BC, AOCNP.With today's increasing number of cancer survivors, more clinical nurses are helping their patients through the survivorship process. The Jones and Bartlett Survivorship Series is a set of essential references for clinical nurses to help identify key components of survivorship care. Written by oncology nurses and coauthored by professionals in the fields of social work, physical therapy, and genetics these diagnosis-specific guides expertly deliver the information nurses need to positively impact treatment and plan for the future health of survivors. The manuals give valuable tips on counseling people with cancer through the various components of survivorship including diagnosis and treatment, follow-up, healthy behaviors and personal growth.Key Topics Include: Overview of the cancer diagnosis and treatment; Common interventions for side effects of cancer and its treatment; Follow-up and surveillance including recommended screening tests; The role of pharmacologic agents in survivorship; Overview on the effects of cancer on communication within family relationships; Strategies for coordination of care among healthcare providers, employers, and insurers; Promoting healthy lifestyles in survivorship including exercise and nutrition. ... Read more

Product Description
Through firsthand accounts of ten survivors of breast cancer, the author offers support and advice concerning such issues as telling family about one's diagnosis, maintaining intimacy with a partner, and adjusting one's body image. Original. IP. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

the most important book on breast cancer I've read
Much more than just a collection of different women's individual stories of breast cancer and the decisions they made, this book really helped me understand what it means to confront cancer, make choices, find support, and most importantly, to "get on with it." The author provides insightful, directed discussion of the issues women face, drawing on the examples of women who share their stories. If you read one book, this should be it. ... Read more

Product Description

This comprehensive guide for mental health practitioners and medical professionals addresses the delicate issues surrounding breast cancer and the processes involved in emotional coping and healing. The book covers concerns of family members as well as women worried about developing breast cancer.

Product Description
This book explains how Chinese medicine diagnoses, treats, and prevents breast diseases. It covers a variety of self-care and home remedies, including self-massage, magnet therapy, moxibustion, aromatherapy, patient medicines plasters and liniments, and herbal teas. It includes information on Chinese dietary therapy, exercise, and deep relaxation.Amazon.com Review
"For women who have serious breast disease, a combination ofWestern and traditional Chinese medicines is, in many cases, aneffective approach," say the authors of this useful guide to promotingbreast health through the 2,000-year-old art of Traditional ChineseMedicine (TCM). The aim of this book is to teach self-help treatmentsfor problems such as fibrocystic breasts (not fibrocystic breastdisease, the authors point out), benign cysts, premenstrualpain, fibroadenomas, and mastitis.

One or more of these problemswill bother more than half of all women at some point during theirlifetime, the authors note, and women with cystic breasts are threetimes as likely as other women to develop breast cancer. They urgereaders to not dismiss cysts as merely benign formations the wayWestern doctors tend to. Instead, they advise several ways ofrelieving symptoms and reversing cystic formations and otherproblems to help stave off future malignancies.

After a thoroughintroduction to the theory of Chinese medicine, including yin and yangdeficiencies; the flow of qi, or life spirit; and the oftenfascinating relationship between diet, emotional health, and one'sphysical health, the authors give specific guidance for various hometreatments. Nutritional recommendations, magnet therapy, self-massage,herbal teas and compresses, and acupuncture are explained clearly andreassuringly. Moxibustion, or the technique of using compressed,warming mugwort "candles," or moxa (which look like incensecones), on various body areas, is also recommended. More familiarherbs, such as dandelion and ginger, are mentioned, as are morecomplex-sounding Chinese herbs, all of which are given in both theirEnglish and Chinese names, such as Dang gui, or angelica.Resources are given throughout for obtaining any herbs or equipment,such as the body magnets, that you may not be able to find locally.

Coauthor Honora Lee Wolfe has written three other women's healthguides, and her knowledge and concern shine through. She quotesthroughout from both ancient Chinese health texts and recentscientific studies while stressing that women need to make more of aneffort to take responsibility for their health. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
Lillie Shockney, RN, BS, MAS,Is The Administrative Director Of The Johns Hopkins Avon Foundation Breast Center, Member Of The Surgical Faculty, A Breast Cancer Survivor, Oncology Nurse, And Nationally Renowned Speaker And Published Author On Breast Cancer. Her Book, Stealing Second Base: A Breast Cancer Survivor's Experience And Breast Cancer Expert's Story, Is A Unique, Empowering, And Often Humorous Story About The Journey Of A Woman Who Has Experienced Breast Cancer From Many Perspectives. Lillie Shockney Shares Her Story About Flipping To The Other Side Of The Patient's Side Rail When She Went From Medical Professional, Wife, And Mother To Becoming A Breast Cancer Patient, Patient Advocate, And Nationally Recognized Breast Cancer Expert, Lending Her Emotional Support And Medical Advice To Help Lead Breast Cancer Patients And Families Through Their Own Journey With This Life Altering Disease. This Must-Have Book Combines The Author's Motivational And Medical Expertise To Provide Practical, Important Information On Breast Cancer Diagnosis, Treatment, Pre- And Post-Surgery Quality Of Life, Sexuality Associated With Breast Cancer Treatment, The Right To Choose Breast Reconstructive Surgery, Breast Reconstruction Resources, And Much More! You Will Laugh And Cry, And Come Away Inspired After Reading This Book. Guaranteed. Her Message Is Powerful. Experience It For Yourself. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Helpful book
My in law had seen this book in the doctor's office and wanted to finish reading it. She says it was great.

Great Book
Loved it.Bought one for my wife and my church.Lillie is truly amazing and this is a great resource if your are just starting down the journey of breast cancer.

You gotta see Lillie in person!!!
filled with humor and compassion, but once you have seen Lillie in person, anything is going to fall short. She's terrific! If only i'd had her as my nurse... ... Read more

Product Description
Whether in the middle of the night, the midst of treatment, or midway through a busy day, You Are Never Alone: Prayers and Meditations to Sustain You Through Breast Cancer offers the breast cancer patient a selection of encouraging and relevant prayers, soothing meditations, and valuable resources on support and prayer groups. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A breast cancer survivor's viewpoint
"You Are Never Alone" is powerful because it is so emotionally real.The prayers and meditations are enormously soothing and comforting. I strongly recommend it.

A Prayer Answered
Two weeks after my cancer diagnosis, while awaiting my surgery, my pastor shared "You Are Never Alone" with me.I was extremely anxious about the pre-surgical waiting period and being wheeled into surgery. While paging through the book, I found the prayer and meditation "In the Surgical Holding Area". One of my prayers had already been answered.The book accompanied me to the hospital and has been an inspirational prayer guide for me in the weeks since my surgery.Maureen Murray so eloquently voices our heavenly requests as only one who knows the journey herself could do. Thank you, Maureen!

An experience worth sharing
I have been searching for an uplifting gift for a friend who is facing this challenge. I need look no further than You Are Not Alone. It is a collection of inspiring and comforting prayers for every stage of this unwanted journey. It also includes beautiful meditations in the form of guided visualizations. Additionaly there is a resource section of groups of people who accept prayer intentions. Maureen Murray writes in an authentic conversational style that is both moving and heartfelt. Herbook fills a need facing many people. ... Read more

Product Description
Coming in paperback: the groundbreaking graphic memoir that has inspired breast cancer patients to fight back—and do it with style.

“What happens when a shoe-crazy, lipstick-obsessed, wine-swilling, pasta-slurping, fashion-fanatic, about-to-get-married big-city girl cartoonist with a fabulous life finds . . .a lump in her breast?” That’s the question that sets this powerful, funny, and poignant graphic memoir in motion. In vivid color and with a taboo-breaking sense of humor, Marisa Acocella Marchetto tells the story of her eleven-month, ultimately triumphant bout with breast cancer—from diagnosis to cure, and every challenging step in between.

•One of Time.com’s top ten graphic novels of the year
•Slate.com’s medical book of the year
•One of the Wall Street Journal’s five best books on living with illness
•Finalist, Books for a Better Life
•Finalist, National Cartoonists Society Graphic Novel of the Year

“Powerful . . . A vibrant, neon chronicle with plenty of atti­tude . . . A triumph of imagination and spirit.”
—Los Angeles Times

“Ebullient . . . Visually invigorating and unflinching.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“Irresistibly authentic . . . These words and pictures convey humility and humanity with witty grace and heartfelt power.”
—The Miami Herald

“Funny, eye-opening, moving.”
—TimeAmazon.com Review
Cartoonist Marisa Acocella Marchetto's graphic memoir about her battle with breast cancer is as bold, vibrant, and brave as she is--pumped full of color, the story leaps off the page and into your heart. Poignant and funny, this inspiring story is made all the more powerful by Marchetto's cartoons. Lucky for us, Marchetto agreed to create a cartoon just for Amazon.com customers. Check out her strip below. --Daphne Durham

Amazon.com Exclusive: A Cartoon from Marisa Acocella Marchetto

Meet Marisa, a self-described "shoe-crazy, lipstick-obsessed, wine-swilling, pasta-slurping, fashion-fanatic, single-forever, about-to-get-married big-city girl cartoonist with a fabulous life." Her graphic memoir, Cancer Vixen describes what happens when she finds a lump in her breast. Want to know what happens to an author when they discover their sales rank at Amazon.com? Read Marisa's exclusive strip below to find out.

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... Read more

Customer Reviews (61)

Enlightening
Enlightening, humorous, loved the artwork and the format for such a serious subject. Helped me get a better perspective on what my sister is going thorugh.

beauty
one if the most meaningful pieces of grafic literature ever produced. my family, sons daughters grandchildren have benefited from this novel.

Gift for my mom's cancer anniversary
My mom had an aggressive form of breast cancer, and her chances were low of making it to 5 years.When she made it to 5 years, I gave her this book to congratulate her and she LOVED it.She has since given it to other friends in her breast cancer support group.I think that speaks volumees about the content.

Vixen all right!
A very creative way to cover the good, the bad and the ugly of breast cancer and its affect on a woman and those around her.

Cancer Vixen
Cancer Vixen: A True Story

When I read that this book was a true account of the author's experience with a cancer diagnosis, and that the author chose to do the book in a cartoon format, it intrigued me and I ordered it. After finishing the book, however, I did not feel that I fully understood the author's experience; that picturing her encounter with cancer with cartoons did not resonate with me as much as words would have. I learned from reading this book that I much prefer to read the words--apart from cartoon pictures--of a person's story. She did use words, of course, but it was not a flowing story of what happened, but rather a choppy mixture of cartoon pictures with words being spoken. If someone asked me exactly what she went through, I could not describe it.For myself, I prefer words, with some pictures or graphics occasionally inserted, but not a total story done in cartoons. ... Read more

Product Description
Michael's Mommy Has Breast Cancer. is a story of hopethat addresses the universal fears and concerns confronting children,ages 5 - 10, when their mother is diagnosed with breast cancer.It isdesigned to inform and encourage family discussion.Michael is upsetand afraid because his mother has breast cancer.With the help ofGrandma and Daddy, Michael learns how to cope with Mommy's illness andhis own feelings of guilt, anger, fear, and helplessness.Michael'sfamily finally experiences the joy of Mommy's recovery, which isexpressed through a celebration for Michael.

The foreword was contributed by Charles E. Cox, M.D., F.A.C.S.,Professor of Surgery and Director of the Comprehensive BreastTreatment Center at the University of South Florida's H. Lee MoffittCancer Center and Research Institute, a leader in breast cancertreatment. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Illustrations leave a lot to be desired
I purchased this book for a patient library, and ended up taking it off the shelf, as I felt the illustrations would be disturbing to kids in the age group for which the book is intended. The illustration of the mom's hair falling out looks like nothing so much as a bleeding head. I think this book was one of the first of its kind, and I applaud it for that, but thankfully, we have other options - with much more appropriate and appealing illustrations - today.

Excellent Tool for Kids
This book is great!It gets right down to the basics that face a child when Mom has breast cancer or, I would think, any cancer.It is simple, easy to read and understand, with childlike drawings that ease kids into the realization that Mom and the family are going to be going through some changes that may be upsetting, but it's all going to be okay.A very reassuring book for kids. ... Read more

Product Description
In Building Genetic Medicine, Shobita Parthasarathy shows how, even in an era of globalization, national context is playing an important role in the development and use of genetic technologies. Focusing on the development and deployment of genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer (known as BRCA testing) in the United States and Britain, Parthasarathy develops a comparative analysis framework in order to investigate how national "toolkits" shape both regulations and the architectures of technologies and uses this framework to assess the implications of new genetic technologies.

BRCA testing was one of the most highly anticipated and publicized technologies of contemporary medicine. Parthasarathy argues that differences in the American and British approaches to health care and commercialization of research led to the establishment of different BRCA services in the two countries. In Britain, the technology was available through the National Health Service as an integrated program of counseling and laboratory analysis, and was viewed as a potentially cost-effective form of preventive care. In the United States, although BRCA testing was initially offered by a number of providers, one company eventually became the sole provider of a test available to consumers on demand.

Parthasarathy also reports on an unsuccessful attempt by the American provider of BRCA testing to market its services in Britain. British scientists, health-care providers, and patients rejected the American technology, she argues, because it was part of a social, economic, and political system to which they were not accustomed. Parthasarathy draws lessons for the future of genetic medicine from these cross-national differences, and discusses the ways in which comparative case studies can inform policy-making efforts in science and technology. ... Read more

Product Description
In this riveting narrative, Barron H. Lerner offers a superb medical and cultural history of our century-long battle with breast cancer. Revisiting the past, Lerner argues, can illuminate and clarify the dilemmas confronted by women with--and at risk for--the disease. Writing with insight and compassion, Lerner tells a compelling story of influential surgeons, anxious patients and committed activists. There are colorful portraits of the leading figures, ranging from the acerbic Dr. William Halsted, who pioneered the disfiguring radical mastectomy at the turn of the century to Rose Kushner, a brash journalist who relentlessly educated American women about breast cancer. Lerner offers a fascinating account of the breast cancer wars: the insistent efforts of physicians to vanquish the ""enemy""; the fights waged by feminists to combat a paternalistic legacy that silenced patients; and the struggles of statisticians and researchers to generate definitive data in the face of the great risks and uncertainties raised by the disease.And for this new paperback edition, Lerner has included a postscript in which he discusses the recent findings the most recent breast cancer controversy: do mammograms truly lower mortality rates or do they lead to unnecessary mastectomies? In Lerner's hands, the fight against breast cancer opens a window on American medical practice over the last century: the pursuit of dramatic cures with sophisticated technologies, the ethical and legal challenges raised by informed consent, and the limited ability of scientific knowledge to provide quick solutions for serious illnesses. The Breast Cancer Wars tells a story that is of vital importance to modern breast cancer patients, their families and the clinicians who strive to treat and prevent this dreaded disease. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

i loved it
i learned so much and it was such suchan easy ad flowy read. i loved itl it was funny and witty.

A MUST READ for every woman
Barron Lerner's "Breast Cancer Wars" joins Ellen Leopold's "Darker Ribbon" as an eyeopening look backstage at the Breast Cancer Follies in America.They are both important books, and make many of the same points, but if you are of a mind to read only one history of this disease, make it this one.

Leopold's book, written from a frankly feminist (and that's OK)point of view is dry and academic.But as a frank feminist myself, I must say I much preferred Lerner's lively, even juicy, warts-and-all look at the nature of American surgeons and how they make their decisions.But be warned: like they say about watching sausage being made, it ain't pretty.In fact the chapter on super-radical surgery that was the fashion for a, thankfully short, period of time in the 1950's upset me so much that I couldn't sleep that night.Do NOT read that part at bedtime!The phrase "human remnant" used by one famous surgeon in referring to his patients - or what was left of them when he got through with them - still gives me nightmares.

Lerner is himself a doctor - he teaches internal medicine and medical history at Columbia, so he has an insider's knowledge and interpretive skills that Leopold lacks.In detailing why, exactly, it took nearly half a century for American surgeons to even agree to scientifically test the efficacy and safety of the radical Halsted mastectomy, Lerner exposes the thought processes that dominate the surgical profession.Trust me, you will never look at your doctors the same way.

His thoughts on the risk aversive, controling mentality of the American population, and how that is reflected in the kind of doctors and medical procedures we traditionally prefer - the mindset that allowed the Halsted and its horror chamber cousins to hold sway for so long - is particularly important.

Toward the end of the book, Lerner touches on chemotherapy - which is a case of poisoning the many in order to help aminiscule few.It is impossible not to see the similarities with the now discredited Halsted.Like the Halsted, chemotherapy is basically a sales job, with no studies that show it is very helpful at all to non-metastatic women.And yet, we risk averse, bigger is better, give it all to me Americans - and our doctors - are embracing it with the same mindless fervor as the radical mastectomy.

Wake up folks.Read this book - it is a must.

Frightening and fascinating.You must read it.
Before signing the consent forms for my lumpectomy, I asked my surgeon if there was a possibility that I might wake up from my operation without a breast."No," he said, "we don't do that any longer."

Ah, but they used to.In fact, according to "The Breast Cancer Wars" it was standard procedure during most of the twentieth century for a woman to go under the knife for a biopsy and wake up without her breast, axillary nodes, and her chest wall muscles.If she were unlucky enough to be operated on in the fifties, she might also be minus an arm and part of her rib cage.

Chapter 4, "The Scalpel Triumphant:Radical Surgery in the 1950s" is truly grotesque to someone who had her own surgery in December, 2001.One surgeon of that middle decade even accused a colleague of "having performed a 'humanectomy.'"People who went in to the operating room with breast cancer might lose a whole forequarter (clavicle, scapula, and an arm).For reproductive cancers, there was an operation called the hemipelvectomy, "which required removal of the 'hind-quarter': a leg and an adjacent bone from the pelvis."A surgeon named Pack performed over 200 hemipelvectomies on men and women, acquiring the nickname 'Pack the Knife' from his admiring colleagues.

How did the war against cancer come to involve such radical surgeries?According to the author, surgeons gained experience with extreme operations during World War II, where they also learned about the life-saving qualities of blood transfusions and penicillin:"Indeed, the Surgeon General had reported a remarkable 96 percent survival rate among injured World War II military personnel."

When the surgeons returned from the battlefields, they were prepared to take extreme measures against an enemy more ancient than the Nazis.Cancer researcher Michael Shimkin later noted, "'surgeons went radical and then superrradical' during the decade following World War II."

I started reading this book fully prepared to despise William Halsted, the surgeon who invented the radical mastectomy and performed it first in 1882.However that was not to be the case.Halstead was a great surgeon and "believed that his operation, if performed early enough in the course of the disease, could substantially prolong the survival of patients"--as did generations of surgeons following his training and example, even though 75% of their patients were dead five years after surgery.

Even after statistics like the above, randomized controlled trials involving lumpectomies and follow-up radiation, womens' activism, better mammography, and a new theory on how breast cancer metastasized, older surgeons performed radical and modified radical mastectomies well into the 1980s--a century after Halstead performed his first.When speaking of one of the old-school surgeons who turned 80 in 1980, Dr. Susan Love, herself a notable breast surgeon, remarked: "It was sad.He had lived too long.He just couldn't make that critical jump."

Dr. Lerner has written a superb medical and cultural history of America's war against breast cancer.Women who are considering treatment options for breast cancer should, at the very least read Chapter 11:"The Past as Prologue--What Can the History of Breast Cancer Teach Us?"

FIRST-CLASS HIDDEN HISTORY
Like many others who have discovered this treasure of a highly readable but profoundly illuminating book. I fully agree with Dr. Susan Love, who called it a "riveting" story and "one of the best books I have read in a long time." As someone who has long been active in the women's health movementI am sure that THE BREAST CANCER WARS will become a fixture on the short list of "must have" titles for any patient or advocate. Dr. Barron Lerner is a gifted writer, a caring clinician(Associate Professor of Medicine and Public Health at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons) a distinguished PhD medical historian, as well as the devoted son of a breast cancer survivor whose "quiet perseverance in the face of a terrifying disease has been an inspiration." Thus, he brings a thoroughly rounded perspective to the history of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment that (to my knowledge) no other male physician has ever attempted, much less achieved. His fascinating descriptions of the central role that activist patients have played in forcing doctors to treat breast cancer more humanely, and, yes, believe it or not- more scientifically, is a major contribution to modern social and science history.Dr. Lerner's title is well-chosen, as he escorts us through the maze of controversies and "wars" that mark breast cancerdiagnosis, treatment and prevention, showing them to be dramatic, amazing, frustrating, sometimes ridiculous, and often highly unfair to patients. While THE BREAST CANCER WARS is not a "how to" book it provides women- and men-with a wealth of necessary background and information that will enable them to become far more savvy and sophisticated on every aspect of any breast cancer discussion.

A Very Important Book
In trying to understand and have an appreciation for the larger perspective of Medicine, Doctors and the Medical/Cancer Establishment, I found "Breast Cancer Wars..." to be the most insightful and helpful book of its kind that I have read. And in seeking to understand my disease (Leukemia), and the process I have been going through, I have read dozens of books on Health, Healing, Cancer, Medicine, the Medical Establishment etc...

Dr. Lerner provides a comprehensive, readable and above all balanced book in which he examines all the factors which impact on the development of a cancer treatment in the U.S. And he maintains this sense of balance while examining what is one of the most emotional, sensitive and controversial areas in all of cancer diagnosis and treatment; Breast Cancer and the Radical Mastectomy.

What particularly distinguishes his writing is the way in which he is able to provide a clear, detailed history and narrative while exploring the human, cultural, political, societal and gender-related issues that have impacted on the development and treatment of Breast Cancer.

In this extremely controversial and politicized area, he does not look for, or find a villain; his is not an attempt to blame or demonize. And that is a great relief.

Instead, in discussing the individuals involved - the physicians who first espoused and continued to advocate the use of Radical Mastectomies and those who opposed it, the prominent women who elected this procedure for themselves, the women who began to oppose the Radical Mastectomy and who challenged the medical system, the women who used their influence and resources to initiate important cancer and support organizations - Dr. Lerner provides very human portraits which helped me to appreciate how and why these individuals developed their views, and how each one of them came to effect the course of the debate and the evolution of Breast Cancer treatment.

And he does not fail to convey the tremendous emotional, physical and psychological impact that these doctors, individuals and organizations have had on women coping with Breast Cancer.

I recommend this book to anyone who is trying to understand the context of an illness and treatment and the various forces, from individual to societal, which play a role in the treatment of disease in the U.S. ... Read more

Product Description
Better Breast Health - for Life! is an empowering, highly-interactive publication, including a CD with an audio workshop, complete with worksheets. Collectivley, this publication can help a reader to identify which risk factors are in his/her life that may contribute to the development of breast cancer - and strategies to reduce them. Thirty-five risk factors are covered, including body size and shape, chemical and pollutant exposure, radiation and EMF exposure, hormones, HRT, birth control pills, sleep, sunlight, emotional trauma, stress, bras, exercise, bodily system cleansing, medication use, organics, alkaline and acidic foods, enzymes, fiber, fats, EFAs, nutritional supplementation, and cooking methods. These factors are categorized into 4 categories: Genetics & Estrogen, Environment, Health & Lifestyle, and Diet. The audio workshop guides listeners through a "Risk Factors" Worksheet(in the book and on the CD in electronic form), enabling listeners to identify and prioritize the risk factors in his/her life based on the relative level of added risk each factor contributes to developing breast cancer.The book then offers details, background, and research on each risk factor, along with strategies to reduce their impact. Additional web resources are also included. The summary chapter (and the CD) includes an "Actions Checklist" worksheet which lists every action step included in the book so that readers can place a "check" next to the action step they intend to take. This results in a one-page checklist or reminder sheet of the actions the reader has committed to take to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer. ... Read more

Product Description
Worldwide, breast cancer is by far the most common cancer amongst women, with an incidence rate more than twice that of colorectal cancer and cervical cancer and about three times that of lung cancer. Whilst screening programmes have improved detection, this disease still places a very high burden on healthcare services worldwide. Over the last two decades, improved public awareness, the implementation of population screening by mammography, and the development of new technology for diagnosis have transformed the care of patients with breast cancer. In this volume, recognised experts discuss key current issues in the diagnosis and management of breast disease. The development and application of new diagnostic techniques is described as well as the use of sophisticated drugs for more effective treatment. Complex contentious topics including risk factors, borderline lesions, professional performance and quality assurance are thoroughly explored by an expert multidisciplinary team. ... Read more

Product Description
Breast Cancer, the inaugural volume of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Care Series, features M.D. Anderson Cancer Center's current standard approach to breast cancer care. Designed for the busy practitioner, the text emphasizes the day-to-day aspects of practice, minimizing both extensive literature review and approaches not yet incorporated into routine practice.

In 17 comprehensive yet concise chapters, the experts at M.D. Anderson describe their current approaches in the areas of primary prevention and screening, genetic predisposition to breast cancer, core needle biopsy and needle localization biopsy of nonpalpable breast lesions, surgical treatment options, serum and tissue markers for breast cancer, chemotherapy for breast cancer, radiation therapy for early and advanced breast disease, high-dose chemotherapy for high-risk primary and metastatic breast cancer, endocrine therapy for breast cancer, menopausal health after breast cancer, and much more.

As more is learned about the relative roles of different treatment modalities for breast cancer, a pattern of practice is emerging in which multiple disciplines collaborate early in the diagnostic and treatment phases. The multi-disciplinary organization of Breast Cancer reflects these emerging trends, providing quick, authoritative access to the latest and best in multimodality therapies. The authors of Breast Cancer describe the structural framework that facilitates M.D. Anderson's multidisciplinary approach and explain how specialists from multiple disciplines work together in decision-making and treatment delivery.

This thorough, practical volume, which includes more than 125 photographs, line drawings, and algorithms, is the essential clinical guide for oncologists, surgeons, and all physicians involved in the care of patients with breast cancer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Practical Guide for Breast Specialists
The second edition of Breast Cancer' MD Anderson Guide incorporated all important developments in breast cancer management: prevention, screening, and therapeutics were revised. It is a practical guide, with a direct language, showing how is the institutional routine at Nellie B. Connally Breast Center in MD Anderson. Perhaps the great message emerged from this book is the multidisciplinary approach to breast cancer care as the best practice today. Unfortunately this approach is not for all realities, and remains a great challenge for most centers in developing countries. But, at the end, it is a fast, complete, and practical review recommended for all breast specialists. ... Read more