Breast Cancer Basics and Beyond : Treatments, Resources, Self-Help, Good News, Updates

For most women and their families, a diagnosis of breast cancer is both devastating and confusing. Questions about the disease — its cause, treatment, and prognosis — can be overwhelming at such a difficult time. By gathering together all the latest information available on the subject, Breast Cancer Basics and Beyond helps women better understand their illness and enables them to make knowledgeable choices about their care. Among the topics discussed are the pros and cons of different treatments including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, hormone therapy, breast reconstruction, recurrence rates, building a support team, follow-up care, and life after cancer. The book also explores current issues such as emerging therapies and examines possible links with obesity, ethnicity, and environmental factors. Top breast cancer specialists and researchers offer comments and testimony, and personal stories from breast cancer survivors provide heartening reminders that the reader is not alone. The Reasons for This Book Quotes and Anecdotes Diagnosis Noticing a Lump or Other Symptom Arriving at a Diagnosis What Cancer Specialists Think about Mammography Mammogram Findings Getting the Best Possible Mammogram Mammography and Younger Women Some Cancers Are Not Easily X-Rayed Additional Imaging Choices The Activist's View of Mammography Delays in Being Tested Persistence when Faced with a Long Delay Understanding the Biopsy Types of Biopsies Getting the News Making Sense of It All A Postdiagnosis Checklist A Brief Checklist of What to Do Now Don't Be Afraid of the "C" Word What if You're Alone? Seeking Support while Telling the World Choosing Your Health-Care Team Can I "Shop" for a Doctor? Having Trouble Assembling a Medical Team? Which Doctor Will I See First? What Can I Expect at a Cancer Center? What Is a Comprehensive Cancer Center? Health Insurance and the High Cost of Medical Care COBRA Disability Insurance For Those Who Lack Adequate Insurance Drug Discounts for Middle-Income Patients The Canadian Connection A Good Book and a Hot Cup of Joe (or Tea) More Info on Info Facts, Fiction, and Urban Legends Myths and Misconceptions Fiction Versus Fact Tapping the Roots of Urban Legends Single-Food Saviors? A Look at Broccoli What about Soy? Antibiotics and Breast Cancer Earwax Consistency and Breast Cancer Risk Power Lines and Electromagnetic Energy Cancer Clusters: Common or Rare? Types of Breast Cancer When You First Receive Your Pathology Report Physiology of the Healthy Breast Immortal Cells Types of Breast Cancer (and Related Breast Abnormalities) Rare Forms of Breast Cancer Understanding the Pathology Report A Lesson on Tumor "Staging" The Importance of Pathology Second Opinions on Pathology Specimens Conferring with a Consultant An Activist Comments on Second Opinions A Primer on Risks, Part I: Age, Genes, and Ethnicity Understanding Risk Breast Cancer and Genetics The Link Between Estrogen and Breast Cancer BRCA1 and BRCA2 Cancer in the Family: Survivors Speak Additional Mutations Should You Seek Genetic Counseling? Genetic Screening: Pros and Cons Survivors Discuss Genetic Screening Ethnicity and Breast Cancer What Do Advocates Say? Another Look at Hormones and Risk Estrogen, Aging, and Breast Cancer Risk A Primer on Risks, Part II: Obesity, Hormone Replacement Therapy, and Other Exposures The Role of Obesity in Breast Cancer What Do Activists Say? Which Is the Real Risk Factor: Body Weight or Seeing a Doctor Too Late? Psychological Issues and Obesity What Do Patients Say? Why Has Weight Become a Breast Cancer Issue? Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) A Patient and a Physician Ponder HRT Lifestyle Issues and Breast Cancer Risk Does Alcohol Consumption Raise the Risk of Breast Cancer? Foods and Breast Cancer Risk Surgery Which Operation Is Best for You? Breast-Conserving Surgery Mastectomy Talking to Your Surgeon Your Hospital Stay Postsurgical Pain Reconstructive Surgery and Prosthetics Radiation Therapy: Medicine's High-Energy Treatment Recalling the Radiation Therapy Experience How Does Radiation Affect Cancer Cells? Why Not Radiation Instead of Surgery? How Radiation Limits Recurrences Facing Radiation Therapy with Uncertainty Radiation Following Lumpectomy Radiation Following Mastectomy A Doctor with an Activist's Point of View Facts about External Beam Therapy Internal Forms of Radiation Preparing for Radiation Therapy Signing the Consent for Radiotherapy The Therapy-Planning Session Plotting the Path Undergoing Treatment The Do's and Don'ts of Treatment Committing to the Schedule Bringing Along a Companion Getting a Boost Locating More Information on Radiation Therapy Chemotherapy Chemo and You Summarizing the Experience Adjuvant Chemo Improves Prognosis When Should Adjuvant Chemo Start? Debating the Pros and Cons of Chemo What Doctors Think about Adjuvant Therapy Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy "Chemo Brain" What Kinds of Drugs Are Used in Chemotherapy? Combination Chemotherapy Preparing for Chemotherapy: The Workup The Treatment A Patient's Diary Common Side Effects and Ways to Cope Combating Side Effects with Medication or Meditation Additional Tests More on Chemo from the Patient's Perspective Activists Want More Treatment Options Investigating New Approaches: Clinical Trials Looking at an Old Drug in a New Way Furthering Your Research on Adjuvant Chemotherapy Hormone Therapy: Counteracting Estrogen Estrogen's "Big" and "Little" Faucets A Primer on Hormone Receptors A Basic Guide to Hormone Therapy Tamoxifen Raloxifene: The First "Designer" Antiestrogen Aromatase Inhibitors Recurrence: If Breast Cancer Comes Back Understanding Recurrences An Activist Who Has Been There Becoming a Patient Again A Doctor Makes a Clarification Selecting an Oncologist and Surgeon The Poem That Inspired Rachel A Final Word: Life Beyond the Odyssey Your Sexuality Additional Notes on Sexuality after Breast Cancer Painting Life with a Broad Brush Mind/Body Medicine Moving Back into Routines Never Shying Away Researching Breast Cancer and Finding Support via the Web. For most women and their families, a diagnosis of breast cancer is both devastating and confusing. Questions about the disease -- its cause, treatment, and prognosis -- can be overwhelming at such a difficult time. By gathering together all the latest information available on the subject, this book helps women better understand their illness and enables them to make knowledgeable choices about their care. Among topics discussed are the pros and cons of different treatments including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and hormone therapy; breast reconstruction; recurrence rates; building a support team; follow-up care; and life after cancer. The book also explores current issues such as emerging therapies and examines possible links with obesity, ethnicity, and environmental factors. Top breast cancer specialists and researchers offer comments and testimony, and personal stories from breast cancer survivors provide heartening reminders that the reader is not alone. This is a serious breast cancer book for the woman or professional who wants to know all of the latest information from a reliable source. Within minutes after Senator John Kerry, the Democrat from Massachusetts, delivered his concession speech announcing his loss in the 2004 race for the U.S. presidency, Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of Kerry's running mate, was whisked away by Secret Service agents to Massachusetts General Hospital.