Breast Cancer

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month - here are ten books about breast cancer.

The Breast Cancer Companion: A Guide for the Newly Diagnosed by Nancy Sokolowski & Valerie Rossi - Guidance, organization, and timely  insider tips to help your breast cancer treatment and recovery go as smoothly and successfully as possible.
Filled with the best-of-the-best advice from the available research, leading doctors, breast cancer survivors, and Nancy Sokolowski's 30 years as one of the country's most respected and sought after breast health specialists, The Breast Cancer Companion is a step-by-step guide to assist you in mounting a smart, organized, and ultimately successful battle with breast cancer.
Helping you stay well-organized and well-informed, this essential companion includes health information, tips, and resources, plus provides ample space and encouragement to record questions, thoughts and feelings, doctor's appointments, medications, and contact information for the oncology team and others.

Breasts: The Owner's Manual: Every Woman's Guide to Reducing Cancer Risk, Making Treatment Choices, and Optimizing Outcomes by Dr. Kristi Funk - A comprehensive guide to total breast health from the go-to breast care expert for Good Morning America and The Doctors. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer over the course of their lives, and breast cancer is the #1 killer of women ages 20-59. But did you know that only 15 percent of those diagnosed have a single relative with breast cancer? For most of us, family history and genetics do not determine who gets breast cancer--we do! You have power over this disease. In BREASTS: The Owner's Manual, Dr. Kristi Funk shows you how to harness that power. This practical guide equips women with the most up-to-date tools for cancer prevention and outlines a compassionate roadmap for treatment options. Kristi Funk, MD, is a Board-certified breast cancer surgeon based in Los Angeles and co-founder of the Pink Lotus Breast Center, which has transformed the delivery of breast healthcare in America. Long before Dr. Funk performed Angelina Jolie's widely-discussed double prophylactic mastectomy, Dr. Funk strategized with her about the most effective and honest way to communicate her decision to the world. Their announcement led to a permanent increase in preventive testing for the BRCA gene. Now, Dr. Funk takes the broader conversation about total breast health to women everywhere with this straight-talking guide. Her mission is to educate as many women as possible about what they can do to stop breast cancer before it starts. Every year, 1 million cases of breast cancer are diagnosed globally, with more than 240,000 in the US alone. BREASTS: The Owner's Manual will help many women avoid this unwelcome journey and will provide wisdom and practical advice for those already walking this challenging path

Dear Friend: Letter of Encouragement, Humor, and Love for Women with Breast Cancer edited by Gina L. Mulligan - This beautiful collection of handwritten letters offers strength, encouragement, and comfort to women living with breast cancer. Written by compassionate strangers--many of whom have gone through their own health battles--these heartfelt letters were gathered by Girls Love Mail, an organization that provides support to people diagnosed with breast cancer. Presented in an elegant package with metallic endpapers, and a ribbon marker, and brimming with warm messages of empathy, inspiration, and humor, Dear Friend delivers words of wisdom when they're needed the most.

From Zero to Mastectomy: What I Learned and You Need to Know About Stage 0 Breast Cancer by Jackie Fox - When Jackie Fox was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ, her doctor explained that DCIS is very early stage--so early it's classified as stage 0. That was the good news. The bad news is it can become life-threatening if not treated, and treatment is the same as for more aggressive cancers. When Fox's oncologist tried to reassure her by saying it's not "real" cancer, she replied, "It's close enough. Somebody sign me up for the fake mastectomy!" From Zero to Mastectomy grew from a series of essays Fox wrote for the Omaha World-Herald about her experience. It details her journey from attempts at breast-conserving surgery, to her "aha!" moment while trying to choose between mastectomy and radiation, to nuts and bolts of recovery and reconstruction. (Hint: Clothes shopping before you've regained your range of motion isn't the best idea.) Fox came to think of it as an adventure, which G.K. Chesterton called "only an inconvenience rightly considered," because cancer gave her so much more than it took away: gratitude for her husband, doctors, family and friends, and for unexpected moments of humor. It even became an unlikely but welcome muse. However, From Zero to Mastectomy is not just a "mammoir." The final chapter is an interview with Fox's "Dream Team": her family doctor, general surgeon, oncologist and plastic surgeon; who share their insights and answer questions women ask most often.

Getting Things Off My Chest: A Survivor's Guide to Staying Fearless and Fabulous in the Face of Breast Cancer by Melanie Young - Charge head on into the battle with breast cancer, armed with these outstanding survivor's tips on how to stay sane, focused, and in charge. Complete with checklists geared toward streamlining your new life, this book helps you eliminate stress and boost your spirits with positive thinking and humor. Don't let your cancer control you; empower yourself and ease the transition with this all-inclusive guide.

The Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer Book by The Mayo Clinic - The Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer Book is the trusted resource for anyone wanting reliable information about this dreaded disease. Mayo Clinic set out to provide comprehensive and up-to-date facts in easy-to-understand language. They've succeeded in this handbook for those who've been diagnosed, or for those who want to give sensitive and helpful support to someone with breast cancer. The Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer Book stands out for its tone of companionship, as well as for the many patient stories that appear throughout the book.
This straightforward yet approachable resource will empower all who are affected by breast cancer. Here are facts about the disease, but also suggestions and inspiration for working effectively with one's doctors and caregivers. This volume offers solid tools for coping with the many uncertainties and decisions that need to be made when one is diagnosed.

The New Generation Breast Caner Book: How to Navigate Your Diagnosis and Treatment Options -- And Remain Optimistic -- In an Age of Information Overload by Dr. Elisa Port - From an expert in the field comes the definitive guide to managing breast cancer in the information age--a comprehensive resource for diagnosis, treatment, and peace of mind. The breast cancer cure rate is at an all-time high, and so is the information--and misinformation--available to patients and their families. Online searches can lead to unreliable sources, leaving even the most resilient patient feeling uneasy and uncertain about her diagnosis, treatment options, doctors, side effects, and recovery. Adding to a patient's anxiety is input from well-meaning friends and family, with stories, worries, and opinions to share, sometimes without knowing the details of her particular case, when in reality breast cancer treatment has gone well beyond a "one size fits all" approach. Elisa Port, MD, FACS, chief of breast surgery at The Mount Sinai Hospital and co-director of the Dubin Breast Center in Manhattan, offers an optimistic antidote to the ocean of Web data on screening, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. Inside you'll discover the various scenarios when mammograms indicate the need for a biopsy the questions to ask about surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and breast reconstruction the important things to look for when deciding where to get care the key to deciphering complicated pathology reports and avoiding confusion the facts on genetic testing and the breast cancer genes: BRCA-1 and BRCA-2 the best resources and advice for those supporting someone with breast cancer From innovations in breast cancer screening and evaluating results to post-treatment medications and living as a breast cancer survivor, Dr. Elisa Port describes every possible test and every type of doctor visit, providing a comprehensive, empathetic guide that every newly diagnosed woman (and her family) will want to have at her side.

Pretty Sick: The Beauty Guide for Women with Cancer by Caitlin M. Kiernan - A veteran beauty industry insider presents the ultimate resource to looking your best during and after cancer treatment When beauty editor Caitlin Kiernan received the shattering diagnosis of cancer, she was obviously concerned about her health. But as a working professional, she knew she had to learn, quickly, how to look her best while feeling her worst. Caitlin called on her list of extensive contacts--from top medical doctors to hair stylists, makeup artists, and style mavens--to gather the best and most useful tips to offset the unpleasant effects of treatment. The result is this comprehensive guide beauty guide for women with cancer, covering every cosmetic issue, from skin care, to hair care, wig shopping, nail maintenance, makeup tricks, and much, much more. Illustrated with charming drawings by Jamie Lee Reardin and peppered with advice from celebrities and cancer survivors, PRETTY SICK will be a welcome and trusted resource, helping women look and feel their best

Radical: The Science, Culture, and History of Breast Cancer in America by Kate Pickert - As a health-care journalist, Kate Pickert knew the emotional highs and lows of medical treatment well -- but always from a distance, through the stories of her subjects. That is, until she was unexpectedly diagnosed with an aggressive type of breast cancer at the age of 35. As she underwent more than a year of treatment, Pickert realized that the popular understanding of breast care in America bears little resemblance to the experiences of today's patients and the rapidly changing science designed to save their lives. After using her journalistic skills to navigate her own care, Pickert embarked on a quest to understand the cultural, scientific and historical forces shaping the lives of breast-cancer patients in the modern age.
Breast cancer is one of history's most prolific killers. Despite billions spent on research and treatments, it remains one of the deadliest diseases facing women today. From the forests of the Pacific Northwest to an operating suite in Los Angeles to the epicenter of pink-ribbon advocacy in Dallas, Pickert reports on the turning points and people responsible for the progress that has been made against breast cancer and documents the challenges of defeating a disease that strikes one in eight American women and has helped shape the country's medical culture.
Drawing on interviews with doctors, economists, researchers, advocates and patients, as well as on journal entries and recordings collected over the author's treatment, Radical puts the story of breast cancer into context, and shows how modern treatments represent a long overdue shift in the way doctors approach cancer -- and disease -- itself.

Twisting Fate: My Journey With BRCA -- From Breast Cancer Doctor to Patient and Back by Dr. Pamela N. Munster - A leading oncologist at the University of California San Francisco, Dr. Pamela Munster has advised thousands of women on how to cope with the realities of breast cancer, from diagnosis through treatment and recovery. But her world turned upside down when, at forty-eight years old and in otherwise perfect health, she got a call saying that her own mammogram showed "irregularities." That single word thrust her into a wholly new role--as patient, and not only that of cancer but of the feared BRCA gene mutation as well. Suddenly, she realized that being a true "expert" in a disease was far beyond the scope of her medical training, and that she had a lot to learn if she wanted to hold onto her precious life.
Weaving together her personal story with groundbreaking research on BRCA--responsible for breast cancer and many other inherited cancers affecting both women and men--Twisting Fate is an inspiring guide to living with the uncertainties of cancer. With authority, insight, and compassion, Dr. Munster uses her voice to create a safe space for genuine healing and honesty in a world otherwise too-often dominated by fear--and she is living proof of how important it is to embrace all the twists and turns of fate.