A Step-By-Step Guide to Dealing With Your Breast Cancer

Taking readers through the experiences of a breast cancer patient, a step-by-step guide chronicles the first six weeks--from discovery of a lump to diagnostic tests--and beyond, offering advice on choosing a surgeon, obtaining a second opinion, learning about the process, and more.

Joining the many recent books on breast cancer-e.g., Renee Royak-Schaler and Beryl Benderly's Challenging the Breast Cancer Legacy (LJ 8/92), Yashar Hirshaut and Peter Pressman's Breast Cancer: The Complete Guide (LJ 8/92), Juliet Wittman's Breast Cancer Journal (LJ 3/1/93), and Gayle Feldman's You Don't Have To Be Your Mother (LJ 5/1/94)-are these two highly practical and accessible guides to coping with the disease, from the first suspicion and diagnosis through options and treatment modalities to follow-up care, reconstruction, and the costs, both emotional and financial. Komarnicky and Rosenberg, both physicians who treat breast cancer, offer straightforward advice and discuss the pros and cons, efficacy, and side effects of various treatments. Because patients often feel so out of control, the authors provide an empowering and reassuring handbook that covers topics not often discussed, such as how the pathology report can aid in decision-making. Robinson, a survivor of this illness, and Petrek, a faculty surgeon at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, guide readers through the first six weeks after diagnosis. They provide chapter checklists that synthesize important points and demonstrate how to become a more informed patient. One helpful section on risk patterns will be of particular interest to women striving to reduce their chances of developing breast cancer. Both titles make significant contributions to the literature, with the Robinson and Petrek book having the edge, primarily because of the discussions on cost and managing insurance. Highly recommended.
Janet M. Coggan, Univ. of Florida Libs., Gainesville
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.