Breast Cancer Sanity & Style

Breast cancer remains big news. In 2009, New York State cut 30 percent from its Cancer Services Program budget, the service that provides breast health screenings and treatment to low-income women. Meanwhile, new drugs known as PARP inhibitors are showing potential for some advanced cancers, and gene expression tests—Oncotype DX and MammaPrint—may factor into decisions regarding chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer. There's so much to know; so many options. How does one stay sane?

Mirriam-Goldberg, Caryn. The Sky Begins at Your Feet. Ice Cube Pr. Oct. 2009. 246p. ISBN 978-1-888160-43-7. pap. $19.95. Health

If you're going to write about your breast cancer diagnosis, it doesn't hurt being the poet laureate of Kansas. With a poet's eye and lyricism, Mirriam-Goldberg describes all the emotions and trials patients and their families experience, allowing readers to see past the struggle to the richness beyond. Highly recommended.

Finding God after losing her husband in the 9/11 attacks, Sands looked to Him again in 2007 after being diagnosed with breast cancer. For faith-based collections and those seeking a spiritual anchor.

This highly valuable guide by a breast cancer survivor and a medical oncologist includes 20 chapters divided into manageable chunks, with numerous boxes denoted by special icons (Essential, Alert, Fact, Questions, In Her Own Words). In addition to diagnosis and treatment options, it covers “the new normal” and finding avenues such as art therapy and journaling as ways to cope. With a glossary and an appendix of organizations. Essential for all breast cancer patients.

Daniels, Elisha & Kelley Tuthill with Ann Partridge, M.D. You Can Do This! Surviving Breast Cancer Without Losing Your Sanity or Your Style. Andrews McMeel. Oct. 2009. 180p. ISBN 978-0-7407-8575-7. pap. $12.99. Health

Diagnosed in 2006 at 40 and 36, respectively, fashion director Daniels and TV news reporter Tuthill put it all on the line for women finding themselves in a similar position. They remind readers that no two breast cancer journeys are identical. Still, all women will discover useful suggestions and “Sanity Savers” galore. Very accessible, with personal comments from both women highlighted in, what else?, pink. Web resources, too. Tuthill's experience is available in video and written form at www.thebostonchannel.com/kelleys-story.

Having survived a double mastectomy and 17 rounds of chemo, Hazen employs her indomitable spirit to help women find practical ways to support their friends in the face of a breast cancer diagnosis. Librarians note, there is a blank journal section at the back of the book.

Maida, Marybeth & Debbie Kiederer. Beauty Pearls for Chemo Girls. Citadel: Kensington. 270p. illus. index. ISBN 978-0-8065-3118-2. pap. $14.95. Health

This exceptionally well-organized book limns the physical, emotional, and spiritual side effects of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation (e.g., disfigurement, hair loss, skin damage, fatigue, depression). Having gathered information from a variety of experts, the authors, a TV producer and a cosmetics industry veteran, offer hope and tips for anyone going through cancer treatment. On the mark.

Morris, outreach coordinator for Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE), and Karp, director of the GenRISK program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, present the latest data on genetic testing that people with a predisposition to and family history of cancer need in order to make the hard choices. An important topic.

Shockney, Lillie D. Patients' Guide to Breast Cancer. Jones & Bartlett. (Johns Hopkins Medicine). Jan. 2010. 158p. index. ISBN 978-0-7637-7426-4. pap. $16.95. Health

Registered nurse and breast cancer survivor Shockney (100 Questions & Answers About Advanced and Metastatic Breast Cancer) covers the ins and outs for the newly diagnosed in brief, segmented chapters, e.g., “Maintaining Balance,” “My Cancer Isn't Curable—What Now?” and “Breast Cancer in Older Adults.” With resources, a glossary, and the imprimatur of Johns Hopkins.

From breast self-exams through diagnosis and new drug therapies to follow-up, the most trusted name in cancer care adds to its “QuickFacts™” series. For all collections.

Adversity comes in all forms, but a breast cancer diagnosis has to be near the top of the heap. Brief contributions from Joan Lunden, Melody Beattie, Iyanla Vanzant, Melissa Etheridge, Maria Shriver, Eleanor Roosevelt, Anaïs Nin, and Betty Rollin, among many others, are meant to keep women moving forward no matter the setbacks. For all collections.

Writer and TV producer Anderson saw his wife, his mother, his sister, and his mother's best friend diagnosed with breast cancer. With wit and openness, he writes about women's feelings and how men should respond. Most important, he says, men must be honest and sincere about their own feelings. An excellent title for the males, but women will gain perspective as well. With an extensive e-resource list.

Journalism professor Ley details breast cancer activism and how research on detection and treatments must be joined (if not exceeded) by “eradicating environmental links” to the disease, “rais[ing] public awareness...[and] pass[ing] more stringent environmental regulations.” A significant change in direction, but this scholarly treatise might be a slow go for general readers.

A scholar and documentary filmmaker, McCormick drives the breast cancer focus from “treat the disease” to “prevent it from happening.” See review, LJ 6/1/09.

The well-received graphic novel account of a cartoonist's breast cancer journey is now in paperback. (LJ 7/02).