The quasi-oral history often breast-cancer patients, as transcribed
and edited by Kahane, a program organizer for the American Cancer
Society. A breast-cancer survivor herself, Kahane explains how
these women successfully coped with the life-threatening illness
and supplies a history of societal attitudes toward breast cancer
and its past and present treatment. Kahane credits the women's
liberation and consumer movements for the development of alternate,
less disfiguring surgical options and for the gradual rejection of
the concept that breast operations destroy femininity and turn
women into "damaged goods." The women's stories included here
describe in intimate detail what it's like to undergo the various
treatments and their emotional and physical aftermath. The
treatments include lumpectomies, modified radical mastectomies,
radiation, and chemotherapy. Most of the women discovered the
malignant growth during breast self-examination. Chemotherapy
proved the real horror, causing serious vomiting and, frequently,
hair loss. For those over 30, it also precipitated premature
menopause; but each woman refused to accept that this made her less
a woman. All learned to regard their illness as an ongoing process
during which the cancer could resurface at any time. Meanwhile,
some changed their lives dramatically, shedding unsatisfactory
marriages, embarking on new careers, becoming more spiritual and
aware of the value of each day. What could have been a mawkish
report is saved by the voices of the women here, unsparing of fears
and unpleasant details and able to convey the guts and wit that
turned them into survivors. Still, a more wide-ranging
breast-cancer book (interviews plus detailed clinical information)
can be found in Amy Gross and Dee Ito's Women Talk About Breast
Surgery from Diagnosis to Recovery, reviewed above. (Kirkus
Reviews)
Ten women describe how they coped with life following breast
cancer. Kahane draws on their stories to discuss how to talk with
family and friends, retain intimacy with a partner, and adjust to a
new body image.
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