They come from different backgrounds and from professions as varied as medicine, education, and entertainment, but these ten women share one thing in common: They all have breast cancer. This book describes their experiences, exploring their initial fear, rage, and uncertainty, and reveals how each eventually coped, in her own way, with her diagnos
Explores the hidden costs of the pink ribbon as an industry and analyzes the social impact on women living with breast cancer -- the stereotypes and the stigmas.
Whether you have cancer or someone you love and care about does, here are 48 powerful stories from cancer survivors who prove that it is what you do with the cancer that matters so much more than what the cancer does to you. Grab it with determination and know that a diagnosis of cancer does not define who you are and that you are not alone.
The first book on the subject of breast cancer survival from the point of view of a woman who has the support of seven sisters, If We Must Dance, Then I Will Lead combines memoir and science writing. A fresh voice tells a story of surviving a labyrinth of knives, needles, and radiation beams. Jane and her sisters were cut from the same cloth. The nuns told them, Take it on the chin; Mom said, Offer it up for the poor souls in purgatory; Daddy said, Mind your mother. There they were, grounded in acquiescence, long-suffering, and obedient when the beast tapped her on the shoulder and asked, Shall we dance? If We Must Dance, Then I Will Lead is laced with humor to soften the starkness of medical terminology. Julie, the certified cranial prosthesis fitter, sets Jane up with a wig that gives her a hairstyle that looks like the ladies at Thursday night Bingo. Esther, the breast prosthesis fitter, insists that shes a D cup when shes been a 36B since high school and doesnt like the look of a rubber nipple showing through her sweater! This memoir will encourage women to advocate for themselves in the scary world of oncology.
Focusing on the unique psychological needs of women who must deal with the pain and devastation of a mother's breast cancer while repressing their fears for their own health, Tarkan profiles a wide range of women who have witnessed the effects of breast cancer.
From the book jacket: Chemo Brain. Fatigue. Chronic Pain. Insomnia. Depression. These are just a few of the ongoing, debilitating symptoms that plague some breast cancer survivors long after their treatments have officially ended. After The Cure is a compelling read filled with fascinating portraits of women who are living with the aftermath of breast cancer. Having heard repeatedly that the problems are all in your head, many don't know where to turn for help. The doctors who now refuse to validate their symptoms are often the very ones they depended on to provide life-saving treatments. Sometimes family members, who provided essential support through months of chemotherapy and radiation, don't believe them. Their work lives, already disrupted by both cancer and its treatment, are further undermined by the lingering symptoms. And every symptom is a constant reminder of the trauma of diagnosis, the ordeal of treatment, and the specter of recurrence. Most narratives about surviving breast cancer end with the conclusion of chemotherapy and radiation, painting stereotypical portraits of triumphantly healthy survivors, women who not only survive but emerge better and stronger than before. After The Cure allows us to hear the voices of those who are silenced by the optimistic breast cancer culture, women who live with a broad array of health problems long after therapy ends. Here, at last, survivors step out of the shadows and speak compellingly about their real stories, giving voice to the complicated, often bittersweet realities of life after the cure.
Advances in medical technology force us to struggle with new and often gut-wrenching decisions. How do we know when someone is dead and not just in a coma? Should a convicted felon qualify for a new heart? In The Woman Who Decided to Die, novelist and medical ethicist Ronald Munson takes readers to the very edges of medicine, where treatments fail and where people must cope with helplessness, mortality, and doubt. Using personal narratives that place us right next to doctors, patients, and care givers as they make decisions, Munson explores ten riveting case-based stories, told with a writer's eye for illuminating detail. These include a young woman with terminal leukemia more worried about her family than herself, a stepfather asked to donate a liver segment to his stepson, a student who believes she is being controlled by invisible Agents, and a psychiatrist-patient who prizes his autonomy until the end. Raising fundamental questions about human relationships, this is an essential book about the very nature of life and death.
Laughing through the Tears of Breast Cancer is a source of inspiration for women who have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, and for their caregivers. The easy-to-read style of writing takes you through a year-long journey of dealing with the emotional experiences of the breast cancer diagnosis and the physical treatments that lead to eventual healing. Although it is a personal journey, this story offers enough similarities that help those who are part of the breast cancer "sisterhood" recognize that, even as they are experiencing their own pain related to this diagnosis, many blessings will result. By sharing her story through journal writings, emails and inspirational messages, Carla creates enjoyable reading, in a girl-talk format, with an abundant amount of practical information about breast cancer. You will laugh while the tears flow from your eyes as you read her story and share her experiences.
