What to Do You Get Breast Cancer

Each year almost 200,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with breast cancer, and most of them discover that they have the disease after finding a lump. But it is not just lumps that should cause concern, warn the authors. Other changes deserving of further investigation include redness or swelling of the breast, change in size or shape, and discharge from the nipple. Whatever the circumstances of detection, this three-part guide will help ease some of the panic following an initial diagnosis of breast cancer. Komarnicky, a radiation oncologist, Rosenberg, a breast surgeon, and Betancourt, a breast cancer survivor, explain clearly and compassionately that a diagnosis of breast cancer is no longer a death sentence. In fact, as they point out, it is one of the more curable cancers if caught early. The first part of the book evaluates what to do after cancer has been discovered. The second portion evaluates treatment recommendations: surgical, chemical and radiation. An excellent chapter on surgery explains lumpectomy, mastectomy and axillary dissection, as well as reconstructive surgery. A discussion of recovery and what to expect after surgery concludes the book. This guide makes the potentially overwhelming, emotionally stressful process of combatting breast cancer seem manageable. (Feb.)