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Living Through Breast Cancer
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Product Description
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:
As seen on Good Morning America!
From Library Journal:
A breast surgeon and director of the Comprehensive Breast Health Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and herself a breast cancer survivor, Kaelin has the credentials to offer advice to women newly diagnosed. She discusses the process from diagnosis and surgical options to treatment, image concerns, and after-treatment issues, e.g., diet, fertility, and sexuality. Her lucid text is broken into major sections, then smaller and smaller subsections, along with sidebars, and is further enhanced by black-and-white illustrations. She covers the latest thinking on surgical recommendations and the newest drug considerations (capecitabine chemotherapy for older women; Tamoxifen vs. aromatase inhibitors for adjuvant use), while using her own experience as a reference point.
Kaelin's goal is to help eradicate the "imprint" of cancer from women's lives by presenting them with sufficient knowledge and the power to make informed choices.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #710942 in Books
- Published on: 2005-02-15
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 370 pages
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In many ways, Kaelin's guide for women diagnosed with breast cancer is just like all the other excellent manuals out there: intelligent, pragmatic and reassuring, it explains how to understand one's diagnosis and treatment options, assemble a "care team," handle common changes in looks and deal with feelings common among women with the disease. What sets the book apart, though, is its author's perspective: she is a breast cancer surgeon and director of the Comprehensive Breast Health Center and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003. She has since had three lumpectomies, a mastectomy, chemotherapy and reconstructive surgery. Not surprisingly, then, Kaelin's book is fairly serious, though not overly academic, and filled with anecdotes from not only her own experiences as a breast cancer patient but from many other women, too. The result is a helpful book that will inform patients and their families, giving them a firm grasp on both the medical and emotional aspects of breast cancer. Kaelin's tone is upbeat but not intensely so; her approach will probably best suit women who just want the facts without too much sentimentality. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
A breast surgeon and director of the Comprehensive Breast Health Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and herself a breast cancer survivor, Kaelin has the credentials to offer advice to women newly diagnosed. She discusses the process from diagnosis and surgical options to treatment, image concerns, and after-treatment issues, e.g., diet, fertility, and sexuality. Her lucid text is broken into major sections, then smaller and smaller subsections, along with sidebars, and is further enhanced by black-and-white illustrations. She covers the latest thinking on surgical recommendations and the newest drug considerations (capecitabine chemotherapy for older women; Tamoxifen vs. aromatase inhibitors for adjuvant use), while using her own experience as a reference point. Her tone is convivial, her language accessible, even downright cutesy ("wimpy or aggressive cancer," despite surgical intervention, "cells may have already scooted into tissue"). Kaelin's goal is to help eradicate the "imprint" of cancer from women's lives by presenting them with sufficient knowledge and the power to make informed choices. Highly recommended for patient health collections. (Index not seen.)- Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal (Library Journal )
In many ways, Kaelin's guide for women diagnosed with breast cancer is just like all the other excellent manuals out there: intelligent, pragmatic and reassuring, it explains how to understand one's diagnosis and treatment options, assemble a "care team," handle common changes in looks and deal with feelings common among women with the disease. What sets the book apart, though, is its author's perspective: she is a breast cancer surgeon and director of the Comprehensive Breast Health Center and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003. She has since had three lumpectomies, a mastectomy, chemotherapy and reconstructive surgery. Not surprisingly, then, Kaelin's book is fairly serious, though not overly academic, and filled with anecdotes from not only her own experiences as a breast cancer patient but from many other women, too. The result is a helpful book that will inform patients and their families, giving them a firm grasp on both the medical and emotional aspects of breast cancer. Kaelin's tone is upbeat but not intensely so; her approach will probably best suit women who just want the facts without too much sentimentality. --PW (Publisher's Weekly )
From the Back Cover
As seen on Good Morning America!
"A breast surgeon and director of the Comprehensive Breast Health Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and herself a breast cancer survivor, Kaelin has the credentials to offer advice to women newly diagnosed. She discusses the process from diagnosis and surgical options to treatment, image concerns, and after-treatment issues, e.g., diet, fertility, and sexuality.
"Her lucid text is broken into major sections, then smaller and smaller subsections, along with sidebars, and is further enhanced by black-and-white illustrations. She covers the latest thinking on surgical recommendations and the newest drug considerations (capecitabine chemotherapy for older women; Tamoxifen vs. aromatase inhibitors for adjuvant use), while using her own experience as a reference point.
"Kaelin's goal is to help eradicate the "imprint" of cancer from women's lives by presenting them with sufficient knowledge and the power to make informed choices."
--Library Journal
In summer 2003, forty-two-year-old Carolyn Kaelin, M.D., was the devoted mother of two beautiful children, a loving wife, and a highly respected cancer surgeon and the director of the Comprehensive Breast Health Center at Brigham and Women’s hospital, one of Harvard Medical School’s main teaching hospitals. During the previous six months, she had been training for the 190-mile Pan-Mass Challenge bike ride, a fundraiser for cancer research. Barely two weeks before the ride took place, Dr. Kaelin discovered that she, herself, had breast cancer. It was then she slipped through the looking glass on a journey that took her from doctor to patient. Five surgeries eventually culminated in a mastectomy. On the heels of this came chemotherapy and a course of anticancer medication. All of these experiences taught Dr. Kaelin profound lessons that years of medical training and doctoring experience could not. She learned first-hand, as few physicians ever do, about the challenging emotional and life changes facing breast cancer patients. And she came to understand how this disease can eat away at a woman’s innermost sense of self.
Like an island of calm at the center of a storm of questions and anxiety, Living Through Breast Cancer is a source of priceless information, understanding, support and guidance for women dealing with breast cancer. A leading national expert on breast cancer, Dr. Kaelin explains with compassion and in plain English the science behind the disease while defining many medical terms and concepts that may be unfamiliar. She describes your options at every stage--from diagnosis through treatment, recovery, and beyond--so you can work with your doctors to make the most informed decisions possible. She shares hard-won advice on dealing with the physical and aesthetic changes you may undergo during treatment, while filling you in on diet and exercise techniques that can help you look and feel your best during treatment and may lower your risk of a recurrence of the disease. And, with the help of intimate details from her own battle with cancer--as well as the stories of many brave women whose voices you’ll hear throughout these pages—Dr. Kaelin prepares you to meet the emotional challenges you’ll face and to find the courage and focus to maintain your sense of self while getting through each day.
Written by a physician who has experienced breast cancer from both sides of the stethoscope, Living Through Breast Cancer is a wise and compassionate companion you’ll want to take with you on your journey back to health.
A compassionate and uniquely authoritative guide to surviving breast cancer
Dr. Carolyn Kaelin understands breast cancer as few physicians do. In addition to being a leading national breast cancer expert and a highly respected cancer surgeon, she also is a breast cancer survivor. In Living Through Breast Cancer she draws upon her experiences as both doctor and patient to offer you a priceless source of understanding, support and guidance on coping with and beating breast cancer. In plain language, she demystifies breast cancer and explains the latest medical knowledge about the disease, its treatment and its aftermath. She tells you what you need to know to work with your doctors and make the most informed decisions about your treatment. And she shares intimate details of her own battle with breast cancer--along with the stories of other women’s struggles--to help you gain a fresh, empowered perspective on the emotional and psychological challenges you’ll face on your own journey back to health.
Living Through Breast Cancer combines state-of-the-art medical knowledge with hard-won advice on:
- Understanding your diagnosis and assembling a care team
- Making sense of your treatment options and making informed decisions
- Understanding your feelings and holding on to your sense of self while getting through each day
- Managing the aesthetic aspects of breast cancer and its treatment--includes tips on looking and feeling your best and the various reconstructive surgical options open to you
- Maintaining good health after breast cancer--including breakthrough exercise techniques and nutrition advice that may significantly lower your chances of a recurrence of breast cancer
"In 2003 at age 42, Carolyn M. Kaelin, M.D., a respected cancer surgeon, discovered she had breast cancer. She had a mastectomy and chemotherapy, hair loss, and countless conversations with doctors about her condition and diagnosis. Of course, Dr. Kaelin's discussions about her breast cancer were more sophisticated than most, since she is the director of the Comprehensive Breast Health Center and Brigham and Women's Hospital, one of Harvard Medical School's top teaching hospitals.
The irony in Dr. Kaelin's experience is hard to miss, but the outcome, aside from a promising diagnosis, is an up-to-date, reliable medical guide with personal commentary scattered through the text. Here's a sample: "I had a custom breast form made two months after my surgery. The form I chose required plaster casting of my intact breast. If you decide to do this, be sure to wear old clothes and shoes--the plaster drips!"--Mamm Magazine, May/June 2005
"This comprehensive book by a noted assistant professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School is all the more believable because she is also a breast cancer survivor. In writing this book, she draws on years of clinical expertise as well as up-to-date research to compassionately guide the newly diagnosed from the first numb, fearful days after hearing their diagnosis through the confusing maze of treatment options and on toward making the best possible recovery. She is in a unique position to suggest strategies for facing the emotional and physical challenges that go hand-in-hand with breast cancer."--Lifeline
(20050215)Customer Reviews
THIS IS THE BOOK TO GET!
This is the best book I have read on breast cancer because it addresses the biology of breast cancer with the reality of the symptoms. It is written by a physician who knows what it is like to lose every single eyelash, and can tell you not only why you lost it, but how to keep on smiling without it. This book has it all - even a whole chapter on the effects of aggressive chemotherapy on cognitive skills and how to cope. When I read the tip 'jot down where you parked your car', I knew this was THE book for me - I had already been doing this. If there is only one book you are going to read on breast cancer, this is the one.
This book has it all!
Living Through Breast Cancer by Carolyn Kaelin and Francesca Coltrera is a well-written, comprehensive, unbiased guide to the latest options in breast cancer treatment and recovery. This seamless blend of scientific knowledge, state-of-the-art medical practice, complementary approaches, and personal experience is written in a clear, easy to understand style. (And it also has excellent illustrations of current surgical options and post-surgery exercizes.) The material is well organized in a format which makes it a valuable reference tool for patients and medical professionals alike. It is a must-read for everyone with an interest in breast cancer treatment and recovery. It's the latest of over 25 books I have read since my breast cancer diagnosis, and it's the best by far.
Up to date, informed, and incredibly compassionate!
If you just want the latest research, go read the New England Journal of Medicine. If you want the latest research PLUS experience, understanding, compassion, and answers to your most embarrassing questions, get this book!
I heard the co-author, Francesca Coltrera, speak a few weeks ago. I was absolutely blown away by how lucid, informed, and compassionate this woman was. She didn't just present the book as a bible for people undergoing breast cancer treatment (though it is that). She talked about it as a a kind of lifeline--a source to go to for questions the doctors and nurses don't have the patience (or experience) to answer.
I hope you don't need a book like this. But if you do, this is the one to get.
