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"Breast cancer is not a one-person diagnosis," writes author Barbara F. Stevens. "It is a family diagnosis." Stevens, a breast cancer survivor whose mother also had breast cancer (though she died of ovarian cancer), interviewed 300 breast cancer survivors and their families to learn the personal truth about this disease--not just the medical decisions and treatments, but how the survivor and their family and loved ones coped. Not Just One in Eight presents 19 of their stories.

Each story draws us in and holds us captive, as the breast cancer survivor tells about life before and after the diagnosis, including treatments and emotional reactions. Loved ones contribute their observations and feelings, so we get a collage of intimate perspectives and anecdotes. Sometimes the loved ones are wonderfully supportive; other times, they cannot cope and the relationship is disrupted. Sometimes their reactions are shocking, for example, a sister who said, "Well, it's a good thing your breasts are so small because that means you don't have much to lose!" A few marriages dissolve. Postscripts bring us up to date on what has happened since the interviews. Many report, "My health is excellent," but some have not survived.

After the stories, Stevens offers chapters on how close we are to a cure and how to lessen the chance of being misdiagnosed. A section on sexuality is particularly strong ("what you really want to know that nobody will talk about"), with quotes from the women (including single, married, and lesbian women) and their partners about sex after a mastectomy.

This is a powerful, moving book, with lessons for all of us. --Joan Price

From Publishers Weekly
The 19 women and one man (yes, men get breast cancer) in this study had a wide range of experiences, but the emotional ripple effect of the illnessAnot only on them but on the important people in their livesAis apparent in all of these stories. Stevens, herself a breast cancer survivor, has conducted extensive and illuminating interviews with these patients as well as with spouses, parents, siblings, children and friends, who had a range of responses. Many husbands stood by their wives during and after surgery, but several marriages collapsed under the strain. As Stevens also makes clear, patients followed different paths in their treatment. While, for instance, some decided on immediate reconstruction after a mastectomy, Lolly Champion feared the procedure would "hinder early detection if there were a recurrence." And while most of these patients put their trust in traditional Western medicine, Dara Kaye elected to try holistic treatments instead of chemotherapy following her surgery. Nearly half of the women interviewed decided on a prophylactic removal of the healthy breast after the cancerous one was removed; and several women have taken the drug tamoxifen to help prevent recurrences. (Stevens would have aided readers even further had she addressed the current questions surrounding the side effects and long-term benefits of this drug.) Patricia A. Ganz, M.D., a cancer specialist at UCLA, contributes a chapter discussing how close we are to a cure. This book can be tough going sometimesAdespite the subtitle, not all the women interviewed survive their cancer. But these candid personal stories, both sad and uplifting, will be of great interest to breast cancer patients and their families. Agent, Linda Konner. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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First Sentence:
Barbara: At the age of forty-nine my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
white cell growth factor, infiltrating ductal cancer, irradiated breast, prophylactic bilateral mastectomy, reconstructed breasts, hotline volunteer, cancer journey, getting breast cancer, cancer experience, positive lymph nodes, taking tamoxifen, breast cancer survivors, breast cancer diagnosis, modified radical mastectomy, little kernel Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Survivor Profile, Arlene Rosen, Higher Power, Mary Lou, American Cancer Society, Donna Grant, Elaine Packwood, Barbara Stevens, Lessen Your Chance of Being Misdiagnosed, United States, Wendy Dupont, Board of Medical Examiners, Dana Keaton, East Coast, Marcia Storry, Hippocrates Health Institute, Julie Ann, National Breast Cancer Coalition New!
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