Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book: New Edition 2005
by Susan M. Love, Karen Lindsey, Marcia Williams (Illustrator)

Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book has been considered the bible of breast-care books since it appeared in 1990. In 1995, Love completely updated the book in a 600-page second edition, including new biopsy and screening methods, implants, the pros and cons of hormone therapy, new discoveries in breast-cancer treatment, and many other topics. Every chapter has been rewritten, with the exception of the anatomy chapter ("The breast, I'm glad to report, is still located on the chest!"). Love presents copious medical information in a simple, welcoming style, and plentiful illustrations make the information even clearer. About two-thirds of the book deals with breast cancer: risk factors, prevention, screening, diagnosis, staging, emotions, treatment options, surgery, alternative treatments, clinical trials, and more. But the book isn't just about breast cancer. It's also about breast development, physiology, bras, nursing, sexuality--if it has to do with breasts, Love discusses it. Love also debunks breast myths: underwire bras do not cause cancer, neither do bruises or injuries; "fibrocystic disease" isn't really a disease. The book includes a wealth of resources: books, treatment centers, and organizations (but no Web sites--perhaps in the third edition?).

Just Get Me Through This: The Practical Guide to Breast Cancer
by Deborah A. Cohen, Robert M., M.D. Geldfand

Having someone to talk with who has been there can make that mind-numbing diagnosis of breast cancer somewhat bearable. Even a stranger from a support group or the friend of a friend can reassure you just because she knows what you're going through. Cohen, a breast cancer survivor, has chosen to be that confidante and information source. She outlines every step of the process from diagnosis to posttreatment in a way that is congenial, honest, wry, and straight-from-the-hip. Books by physicians (e.g., John Link's The Breast Cancer Survival Manual, LJ 3/1/98, which is frequently referenced here) have excellent information, but Cohen's friend-in-need approach offers a unique and welcome perspective. In addition, oncologist Gelfand steps in where more technical discussions and definitions are required. As Cohen gives the real skinny on options, chemotherapy (eat Fudgsicals to minimize or eliminate mouth sores), radiation (grow your own aloe plant for relief of skin irritation), relationships, workplace issues, and aftercare, she considers "Rules of the Road" for family and friends to help them know what to do and say during a loved one's ordeal. This is a wonderful book; all patient health collections should have several copies.

The Breast Cancer Survival Manual, Third Edition : A Step-by-Step Guide for the Woman With Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer
by John Link, Cynthia Forsthoff, James Waisman

In a valuable guide for women who have just been diagnosed with breast cancer, Dr. John Link helps sort through the confusion and the fear, by explaining such things as how to get a second opinion and how to understand a pathology report.

Particularly valuable is Link's step-by-step description of how breast cancer is characterized, or staged, according to tumor size, hormone receptors, and other factors--and how that affects prognosis. As a breast cancer specialist at Long Beach and Orange Coast Memorial hospitals in Southern California, Link knows the medical jargon and what it means. Although his writing style is at times a bit jargony and difficult to read, a breast cancer patient will willingly read and reread every word. The book also includes useful chapters on diet, exercise, herbs, and vitamins; managing the side effects of treatment; healing's mind-body connection; and organizing medical records and keeping a personal journal or log.

Ending on an encouraging note, Link writes, "You should know that most women today are cured of breast cancer. They undergo treatment, become survivors, and go on with their lives. But having breast cancer is certainly a wake-up call to many and may be for you. Life now has added uncertainty." This step-by-step manual helps you navigate the uncertainty and become a survivor, both physically and psychologically.

Breast Cancer? Breast Health! The Wise Woman Way (Wise Woman Herbal Series, Book 4) (Wise Woman Herbal Series)
by Susun S. Weed, Alan McKnight, Christine Northrup (Illustrator)

Designed to be a resource for both women who want to maintain breast health and those who've been diagnosed with breast cancer, Breast Cancer? Breast Health! The Wise Woman Way draws on "women's wisdom," or the inner knowledge often ignored by modern medicine, as a powerful tool for healing. Author Susun Weed proposes an anticancer lifestyle, and, if cancer does enter the picture, a six-step plan for healing (sleep is at zero, or "Do Nothing"; surgery is number six, which she terms "Break and Enter"), with various complementary healing techniques included throughout.

Weed is careful to point out that supplements and herbs can hurt as much as they can help, and she lists several alternative-medicine techniques that should be avoided no matter what. The steps she does recommend--from herbal oils for breast massage to help detect lumps early to the herbs milk thistle, dandelion, and burdock for women with liver damage from tamoxifen--are explained clearly, sometimes with fascinating quotes from centuries-old books on healing.

Weed will draw ire from some readers for recommending that mammograms be avoided. She says they tend to squeeze cancer cells into the bloodstream and can't detect cancer until it's metastatic, which are reasons enough to not have them, and adds that women would be better off by making her suggested anticancer lifestyle changes, paying more attention to their breasts, and performing regular self-exams.

The warnings about the dangers of electromagnetic fields, exposure to estrogen, and organochlorides from plastics may frighten some, but Weed means to enlighten and empower. She dedicates the book to environmentalist and Silent Spring author Rachel Carson and poet Audre Lorde, who both died of breast cancer. Extensive herbal resources, a solid glossary, and a thorough index are included.

Living Beyond Breast Cancer : A Survivor's Guide for When Treatment Ends and the Rest of Your Life Begins
by Marisa Weiss, Ellen Weiss

"Breast cancer is never completely over," says author Marisa C. Weiss, M.D., a radiation oncologist. Even when x-rays are negative and doctors proclaim remission, breast-cancer survivors often suffer from continued health problems along with elevated levels of anxiety, and the specter of recurrence is just a small part of the picture.

Living Beyond Breast Cancer: A Survivor's Guide for When Treatment Ends and the Rest of Your Life Begins has won endorsements from both Bernie Siegel and former surgeon general C. Everett Koop. It deftly and with compassion maps out a guide for going back to a "normal" life: for handling fears of recurrence and worries that family members will develop breast cancer and for managing physical posttreatment problems, including the lingering side effects of radiation, fertility difficulties, changes in sex drive, and feelings of unattractiveness.

Living Beyond Breast Cancer is comprehensive--at more than 500 pages, it has the room to thoroughly cover pain control and medication, genetic testing, weight management, hormone and tamoxifen therapy, alternative treatments such as traditional Chinese medicine, breast reconstruction, and the various tests for recurrence, from PET and CAT scans to MRIs and blood testing for cancer markers. It's also a superb reference for emotional issues, from depression and generalized anxiety to insecurities about reentering the job market and revealing the cancer experience to coworkers. Weiss includes many quotes from breast-cancer survivors, so readers know they're not alone. The extensive resources and excellent index add to this book's immense helpfulness.

"How can I know if I'm really cured?"
"Will anyone ever be attracted to me again?"
"Will I ever get to enjoy sex again?"
"It is safe for me to get pregnant?"
"How do I live well beyond menopause without estrogen replacement therapy?"
"What do I tell my boss?"
"My daughter wants to know if she's going to get breast cancer too.  What should I tell her?"

If you are one of the 2.6 million women in the U.S. living beyond breast cancer, these may be some of the questions troubling you.  You've been through diagnosis and treatment; now you're ready to move from "I have breast cancer" back to "I am leading a normal life."  Living Beyond Breast Cancer will help you understand and manage the tough issues you face as you go on beyond treatment, and well into the future.

You'll learn how to become as healthy as possible for as long as possible by eating right, managing your weight, and finding an exercise program  that works with your lifestyle.  You'll find out what to do if you've got to stop taking hormones or want to start.  You may also need advice on achieving intimacy and having a baby.  You'll also find invaluable guidance on growing older and navigating troubling symptoms of menopause, particularly when they're brought on by chemotherapy or tamoxifen or by stopping hormone replacement therapy.  A normal life includes dealing with job and health care issues and wills. So you'll find in-depth information on these subjects too.

You're a survivor, and you've got a future.  This empathetic book, filled with comprehensive medical information, practical advice, and the voices of survivors who have lived through everything you're going through, will help you celebrate your second chance at living beyond breast cancer.

Refuge : An Unnatural History of Family and Place (Vintage)
by Terry Tempest Williams

The only constants in nature are change and death. Terry Tempest Williams, a naturalist and writer from northern Utah, has seen her share of both. The pages of Refuge resound with the deaths of her mother and grandmother and other women from cancer, the result of the American government's ongoing nuclear-weapons tests in the nearby Nevada desert. You won't find the episode in the standard history textbooks; the Feds wouldn't admit to conducting the tests until women and men in Utah, Nevada, and northwestern Arizona took the matter to court in the mid-1980s, and by then thousands of Americans had fallen victim to official technology. Parallel to her account of this devastation, Williams describes changes in bird life at the sanctuaries dotting the shores of the Great Salt Lake as water levels rose during the unusually wet early 1980s and threatened the nesting grounds of dozens of species. In this world of shattered eggs and drowned shorebirds, Williams reckons with the meaning of life, alternating despair and joy.

Be a Survivor: Your Guide to Breast Cancer Treatment, Third Edition (Book and DVD)
by Vladimir Lange

Be a Survivor - Your Guide to Breast Cancer Treatment - book with DVD - 3rd ed. By Vladimir Lange, MD A unique book-with-DVD combination that informs and empowers Dr. Vladimir Lange is a Harvard Medical School trained physician, nationally recognized for patient education programs. When his wife, also a physician, was diagnosed with breast cancer, both were overwhelmed by the complexity of the information they had to process. Be a Survivor was inspired by their desire to make the journey easier for others. Be a Survivor is the "must read" book for every woman diagnosed with breast cancer, and for those who care for her. The book is: COMPLETE - it covers all aspects of the disease - from diagnosis, to breast reconstruction, conventional and complementary therapies, and life after cancer. It also includes a chapter for the woman’s husband or partner. ACCURATE - rather than reflecting a single specialist’s point of view, the book is based on the combined experience and wisdom of 28 experts in various fields. REASSURING - written with compassion and understanding, the book also includes candid stories by survivors and their partners. USER-FRIENDLY - hundreds of color photos, graphics and diagrams help clarify important concepts. UP-TO-DATE - the book covers the very latest developments, including brachytherapy, perforator flaps, skin sparing mastectomy and much more. UNIQUE - Be a Survivor is the ONLY book on breast cancer that comes with a DVD, so the reader can see videos of procedures, hear survivors’ stories, and enjoy the animated 3-D graphics. See the DVD for a clear overview. Read the book for additional details. Use both as a valuable source of information that will help you assume an active role in your treatment and recovery. \\\\\\\\\\\\ This Book Will Help You

• Assemble the best team of experts to ensure successful treatment
• Decide whether mastectomy or breast conservation is the right choice for you
• Evaluate your breast reconstruction options
• Understand why you may not need chemotherapy
• Learn about new treatments, such as brachytherapy
• Consider appropriate complementary therapies
• Communicate effectively with your partner.

"This is not just another book on breast cancer. The information is presented in a factual and useful way, uniquely reflecting may patients' points of view. I wish I'd had a reference like this when I was diagnosed."
Candace Moorman, MPH
California Department of Health Services
Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program

"A long-overdue book... 'One-stop shopping' for up-to-date, objective information that women need to make confident, informed satisfying decisions."
Betsy Mullen, breast cancer survivor
Founder, President, and CEO
WIN Against Breast Cancer

"You have opened the doors of hope, understanding, and restoration for countless individuals..."
Deane Wolcott, MD
Medical Director, Psychosocial Services
Salick Healthcare, Inc.

"A rare combination of facts and feelings written with clarity and heartwarming compassion!"
Jack Canfield
Author, Chicken Soup for the Surviving Soul --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Vladimir Lange, MD, a graduate of Harvard Medical School, spent twelve years as an emergency physician in Southern California, and eighteen years as an award-winning medical multi-media producer.

Breast Cancer Husband : How to Help Your Wife (and Yourself) during Diagnosis, Treatment and Beyond
by Marc Silver

A unique guide, like none other on the market-packed with medical information, practical tips, psychological insight, and coping strategies-to help men help the women they love through this trying time.

Living Through Breast Cancer
by Carolyn M. Kaelin, Francesca Coltrera

A compassionate and uniquely authoritative guide to surviving breast cancer Dr. Carolyn M. Kaelin is nationally recognized as a leading expert on breast cancer. At the age of 42, this highly respected cancer surgeon and the director of the prestigious Comprehensive Breast Health Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital, one of Harvard Medical School's main hospitals, had a young family and demanding career. When she discovered that she had breast cancer, she was suddenly transformed from doctor to patient--and learned firsthand just how this terrible disease makes women question their sense of self. Now, following a mastectomy and an ongoing course of chemotherapy, her prognosis is good and her passion and commitment to helping other women with breast cancer is greater than ever. In a book that will be a source of priceless information and much-needed understanding and support for women with all forms of breast cancer, Dr. Kaelin provides the most up-to-date information on virtually every aspect of the disease, both as a top specialist in the field and as a survivor. Compassionate, comprehensive, and uniquely authoritative, Living Through Breast Cancer provides women with: State-of-the-art medical knowledge interwoven with hard-won advice on dealing with the emotional and aesthetic ramifications of breast cancer and its treatment The most complete guidance on treatment options, maintaining health after cancer, feeling and looking good, and keeping one's sense of self while getting through each day Groundbreaking information on exercise techniques that can significantly reduce the chance of recurrence and nutritional advice to improve overall health

Her-2 : The Making of Herceptin, a Revolutionary Treatment for Breast Cancer
by Robert Bazell

Her-2: The Making of Herceptin, a Revolutionary Treatment for Breast Cancer reads like a novel at first. Oncologist Dennis Slamon has spent 13 years "obsessed with a molecule called Her-2," which he believed "held the key to nothing less than curing breast cancer." The book chronicles the search to unlock the secrets of Her-2/neu, a protein that makes cancer cells grow quickly; the discovery of the Her-2/neu antibody, which resulted in tumors shrinking and, sometimes, remission of the cancer; and the development of the drug Herceptin. It is also the story of the women with breast cancer who participated in Herceptin's clinical trials, including Anne McNamara, who has been fighting tumor after tumor since 1978.

The scientific and research-history sections are heavy and slow going, but Robert Bazell effectively juxtaposes the difficult scientific concepts and long research history of Her-2 with human drama. He keeps bringing the reader back to the threads of the personal stories we are following--especially the women with breast cancer and their determination to recapture their health. This is what makes Her-2 so compelling.

Your Breast Cancer Treatment Handbook: Your Guide to Understanding the Disease, Treatments, Emotions and Recovery from Breast Cancer
by Judy C. Kneece

Maurice Nahabedian, MD, Johns Hopkins Hospital
"This is an excellent resource for women dealing with breast cancer, up-to-date and answers many important questions."

Nancy G. Toth, RN, BSN, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
"After educating patients for twenty years, this book is the most inclusive for helping a woman recover from breast cancer."

Jenne A. Petrek, MD, Director of Surgical Program, Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NY
"Details, as well as broad principles, addressing the day to day questions and needs of a woman in breast cancer treatment and recovery, are discussed comprehensively and optimistically."

Rosemary Lambert-Falls, MD, Medical Oncologist
"This is the most complete reference for breast cancer patients that I have ever read. It covers every aspect from diagnosis to recovery; most importantly, it addresses the fears and anxieties of all patients. Facts are presented with hope. It fills a great void and will empower patients to be better informed and more in control. I wholeheartedly support this publication and plan to use it in my practice."

Merle O'Rourke Thompson,Ph.D.,Survivor, Journal of The National Cancer Institute, Reviewer
"Judy Kneece's empathic voice runs through Your Breast Cancer Treatment Handbook explaining treatment decisions, step by step, once breast cancer has been diagnosed. The book addresses relevant issues in short, easily absorbed chapters, with checklists, memory lists, questions to ask of medical specialists, and advantages and disadvantages of various treatment options...Kneece leads the reader through the gamut of possible feelings that a newly diagnosed woman might have helping her to see that her shock, anxiety, anger, and depression are all normal reactions...I am always surpised at how much information she packs into brief discussions. This would be a great book for doctors to give their patients."

Your Breast Cancer Treatment Handbook has been called the most effective and empowering breast cancer book both by patients and healthcare professionals. This valuable book is designed for the newly diagnosed breast cancer patient. It provides the patient with current, easy-to-understand explanations of procedures and treatments; decision making guidelines; and inspirational encouragment as the patient progresses through the breast cancer experience. No treatment advise is given, allowing the treatment team and the patient to work as partners for the final treatment decisions. Survivors' reassuring remarks appear throughout the book to offer support and encouragement.

Featured on the cover of Cope, Working in Oncology magazine, Judy says, "Empowering patients with an understanding of their disease, treatment options and providing tools for recovery management are essential for complete recovery. Breast cancer is more than scars on the breast; it also scars the heart. We must address the psychological and social issues breast cancer brings if a woman is to master the disease. An understanding of her disease and personal management skills empowers a woman to become an active partner in recovery with her health care team and not a passive participant. She must know the advantages and disadvantages of treatment options and the questions she needs to ask about her care. Getting well is more than surgery and treatments, it is a woman understanding the vital role she can play in managing her own recovery."

Judy C. Kneece, RN, OCN, has trained over 1000 nurses internationally to serve as breast health specialists to coordinate the clinical, educational and support needs of patients. She has authored five books on breast cancer and benign breast disease, including a companion book, Helping Your Mate Face Breast Cancer, for support partners of breast cancer patients.

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer : How Hormone Balance Can Help Save Your Life
by John R. Lee M.D., David Zava, Virginia Hopkins

An informative and absorbing read for both medical practitioners and their patients, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer takes aim at "the breast cancer industry" with a barrage of thought-provoking ammunition.

The book is equal parts criticism and suggestion. Current health treatments, including HRT, receive serious condemnation, and authors John Lee and David Zava carefully provide plenty of medical research to back up claims that excessive estrogen is a main source of cancer-causing irregularities. While the names of all the different natural and synthetic hormones can get overwhelming for the lay reader, with perseverance your new vocabulary of terms like androstenedione, estradiol, and cortisol will enable you to communicate more effectively with your doctors. The authors credit these hormones not just with a role in cancer, but with culpability for everything from insomnia and acne to fatigue and migraines. A full chapter extols the virtues of natural progesterone cream, and urges women to order their own saliva tests for proper evaluation of their hormone levels.

Diet and exercise recommendations are simple, outlining reasons to limit fats, sugars, and meats while increasing vegetables and adding a multivitamin. These recommendations extend to adolescents and urge getting off the couch and beginning a gentle exercise program to women of all ages and in each stage of life.

Essential Exercises for Breast Cancer Survivors
by Amy Halverstadt

Overcoming the aftereffects of breast cancer can be as difficult as hearing the original diagnosis. Exercise specialists and personal trainers Halverstadt and Leonard first discuss the physical effects of breast cancer surgery and treatment (from general stiffness and "frozen shoulder" to painful scar tissue and lymphedema), then offer stretches, warm-ups, and 90-plus exercises (their "Essential Exercises," repeated ad nauseum) to improve/regain range of motion and increase strength of the affected arm. Their plan is intended to improve one's overall well-being through better posture, improved lymphatic flow, weight management, and cardiovascular health through aerobics. The photos included in the galley are quite small (most photos were not seen). The authors have done an admirable job, but in all honesty, can any exercise regime be followed properly via a book? They say, "Don't lock your knees" and "Contract your abdominals and your buttocks," but do most women know how that is done? Women wanting to reverse the complications of breast surgery would do better with a videocassette, e.g., Better Than Before (LJ 1/96) or Focus on Healing Through Movement & Dance for the Breast Cancer Survivor (LJ 5/15/99), where positions are amply demonstrated and explained. Still, this book is recommended for comprehensive patient health collections.DBette-Lee Fox, "Library Journal"