Living with Breast Cancer: The Step-by-Step Guide to Minimizing Side Effects and Maximizing Quality of Life (A Johns Hopkins Press Health Book)

Your complete resource for handling the physical and emotional effects of breast cancer treatments.

At the time of diagnosis, breast cancer patients are faced with many overwhelming decisions about possible treatments. Living with Breast Cancer provides you with an overview of what to expect from testing and treatment, which cancer specialists you may need to see, and common terms to use to help communicate your needs to your team. This empathetic resource full of relatable stories teaches patients and caregivers how to ask the right questions to get the best possible care. The authors explain how to minimize the symptoms and side effects of treatment and outline coping strategies to deal with the stress of breast cancer treatment, including the changes in your body from cancer and its therapies. The book helps readers

• make sense of their diagnosis
• set goals and prepare for treatment
• understand the different types of therapies, tests, and scans
• manage the symptoms and side effects of treatment, such as nausea, fatigue, shortness of breath, weight fluctuations, and depression
• learn what medications and lifestyle modifications can help with symptoms
• live and cope with progressive cancer

Living with Breast Cancer is your definitive resource for handling the physical and emotional effects of breast cancer and treatment.

Jennifer A. Shin, MD, MPH (SOMERVILLE, MA), is a medical oncologist specializing in breast cancer and a palliative care specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital.

David P. Ryan, MD (MILTON, MA), is the chief of hematology/oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Vicki A. Jackson, MD, MPH (NEWTONVILLE, MA), is the chief of palliative care and geriatric medicine at Mass General Hospital.

Michelle D. Seaton (NATICK, MA) is the coauthor of The Way of Boys and The Cardiac Recovery Handbook. Jackson, Ryan, and Seaton are coauthors of Living with Cancer: A Step-by-Step Guide to Coping Medically and Emotionally with a Serious Diagnosis.