My Breast: One Woman's Cancer Story - Hardcover

Wadler, J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0201632837 ISBN 13: 9780201632835

Publisher: Da Capo Press, 1992

Synopsis

In an expanded, full-length version of the New York magazine article, a breast cancer survivor chronicles her experiences dealing with the disease, recounting real-life medical practices and her courage in the face of death. 45,000 first printing. $50,000 ad/promo.

About this title

Review:

Like so many women diagnosed with breast cancer, Joyce Wadler, a former writer for People magazine, had few known risk factors. She exercised. She had no family history of the disease. But when she was 44 years old, she had a malignant tumor "the size of a robin's egg" removed from her left breast. The eventual diagnosis was "ductal carcinoma with medullary features." Because of her early detection, aggressive treatment, and good prognosis, she called it "my maybe-not- the-best-but-still-pretty-terrific-whatever-the-hell-it-is cancer."

What gets Wadler through chemo and radiation--and later a fight against ovarian cancer--is her questioning nature, her pluck, and her occasionally mordant sense of humor: she describes such things as being "nuked" in radiation therapy and accidentally arriving at the morgue on her way through the winding hallways of New York's Roosevelt Hospital. She also quizzes her doctor about the "street value" of Ziphrain, the anti-nausea drug that also elicits a euphoric high. While her sometimes-boyfriend Nick is maddeningly insensitive to her needs, she's very much helped out in the humor department by her friend Herb, now a comedy writer. Wadler half- jokingly tells Herb that if they had children, she would raise them, and he responds with, "And I would lower them."

Wadler's book is worth reading not only for the many laughs, but also for the no-baloney attitude she takes with her doctors. She questioned her doctors' treatment decisions and diagnoses throughout her ordeal, and researched her options like an investigative reporter. Emulating Wadler's behavior and utilizing the resources she mentions could very well be lifesaving for women in the same situation.

About the Author:

Joyce Wadler, a former New York correspondent of The Washingon Post, has been a journalist for more than twenty years. She is presently at work on her book about her experience with ovarian cancer, Plucky Cancer Girl Strikes Back.

About this edition

• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0201632837
• ISBN 13: 9780201632835
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1