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After Breast Cancer Answers to the Questions You're Afraid to Ask

By Musa Mayer
First Edition March 2003
Pages: 216
ISBN 10: 0-596-50783-6 | ISBN 13: 9780596507831
(Average of 1 Customer Reviews)

Book description

Over 400,000 women in the US ended treatment for breast cancer in the past two years This is the only book focused on their biggest worry: the possibility that the cancer could come back. After Breast Cancer reviews new research about best practices for follow-up testing, the true risk of recurrence over time, and how other women cope with their concerns. It also features the voices of over 40 women who have been through this same tough journey of tears, fears and triumph.
Full Description

Each year, around the world, over one million women will be told they have breast cancer. All will face surgery, and most will undergo radiation, chemotherapy and hormonal treatment. But the worry isn't over when treatment ends. In the months and years that follow, women are left with nagging questions, questions they often are afraid to ask:

When will I know for sure that I am cured?
Shouldn't my doctor be doing more follow-up testing?
What are the real figures on breast cancer survival for women treated today?
How would I know if I had a recurrence?
How do I answer family and friends who think I worry too much?
Do other women ever feel the way I do, and how do they cope?

Author and 14 year breast cancer survivor Musa Mayer breaks the silence surrounding recurrence to talk frankly about the feelings of uncertainty and fear that breast cancer patients commonly face when their treatment ends, and for years thereafter. She reviews scientific literature (and debunks some commonly cited myths) by giving survival statistics corrected for current treatments and diagnostic profiles. She explains what is known about the benefits of follow-up visits and testing. Devoting several chapters to emotional recovery, she offers advice about how to tackle these fears through information and support. Throughout the book are the warm and wise voices of over 40 other women who have been through this same tough journey of tears, fears and triumph.

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Featured customer reviews

After Breast Cancer Review, October 26 2003

Rating:

Submitted by Beth Austin [Respond | View]

Just finished the book. A two year survivor, I still had lots of questions,and this book provided lots of answers. Some of the topics were things I needed to know, wanted to know, but didn't even know how to ask the question. I will pass this title on to my oncologist and his nurse for further recommendations to others like me.

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Media reviews "I loved the book! It is beautifully written, compassionate, clear, supportive and informative. It's personal and therefore, interesting, but also makes complex information clear and relevant. Musa, who is a breast cancer survivor, deals with the ambiguities that haunt all survivors. She cuts through complex scientific data and tells us what the data implies for us. She handles this difficult information on all levels: emotional, social and intellectual. As the Hotline Director at SHARE: Self-help for Women with Breast or Ovarian Cancer, I consider this book a 'must read' for all Hotline Volunteers and for any survivor who is experiencing post treatment anxiety."
--Barbara Krauser Hotline Director, SHARE: Self-help for Women with Breast or Ovarian Cancer, New York City

"'After Breast Cancer: Answers to the Questions You're Afraid to Ask' is an unbelievable resource. I would suggest that all survivors read it, especially when they reach that point where they are worried about not having a way to fight the cancer after treatment is over. After reading the book, I feel like Musa Mayer wrote about me and everything that I went through and continue to revisit as a survivor."
--Joy Simha, Co-Founder, The Young Survival Coalition, www.youngsurvival.org

"Really up to date. Written by a 14-year breast cancer survivor who is a writer by profession and inclination, so very well written and easy to understand without talking down to the reader. Deals mainly with emotional issues so not overburdened with technical terminology, although excellent lay-person explanations of the real meaning of statistics in terms of individual prognoses and of follow-up tests such as CTs, MRIs, and PET scans. Fascinating to learn that, with present technology, all these tests accomplish is to make the symptomless patient aware that she's had a recurrence a little bit sooner than if she had discovered it for herself, i.e., they do nothing to prolong her life or improve its quality. Actually, this is good news for patients in Nova Scotia, where most of these tests aren't readily available anyway, so it's just as well to know that they're worthless in terms of saving your life. It made me feel better anyway, and a little less inclined to obsess about having a recurrence, which is one of the book's main objectives. Strongly recommended, both in terms of style and content. Actually, I have never seen these particular issues addressed in depth before."
--Rosanna Bechtel, Co-Chair of BCANS (Breast Cancer Action, Nova Scotia)

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