A Breast Cancer Alphabet

A definitive and approachable guide to life during, and after, breast cancer The biggest risk factor for breast cancer is simply being a woman. Madhulika Sikka's A Breast Cancer Alphabet offers a new way to live with and plan past the hardest diagnosis that most women will ever receive: a personal, practical, and deeply informative look at the road from diagnosis to treatment and beyond. What Madhulika Sikka didn't foresee when initially diagnosed, and what this book brings to life so vividly, are the unexpected and minute challenges that make navigating the world of breast cancer all the trickier. A Breast Cancer Alphabet is an inspired reaction to what started as a personal predicament. This A-Z guide to living with breast cancer goes where so many fear to tread: sex (S is for Sex - really?), sentimentality (J is for Journey - it's a cliché we need to dispense with), hair (H is for Hair - yes, you can make a federal case of it) and work (Q is for Quitting - there'll be days when you feel like it). She draws an easy-to-follow, and quite memorable, map of her travels from breast cancer neophyte to seasoned veteran. As a prominent news executive, Madhulika had access to the most cutting edge data on the disease's reach and impact. At the same time, she craved the community of frank talk and personal insight that we rely on in life's toughest moments. This wonderfully inventive book navigates the world of science and story, bringing readers into Madhulika's mind and experience in a way that demystifies breast cancer and offers new hope for those living with it.

Two years after she underwent a mastectomy and chemotherapy, Barbara Bradfield's aggressive breast cancer had recurred and spread to her lungs. The outlook was grim. Then she took part in Genentech's clinical trials for a new drug. Five years later she remains cancer-free. Her-2 is the biography of Herceptin, the drug that provoked dramatic responses in Barbara Bradfield and other women in the trials and that offers promise for hundreds of thousands of breast cancer patients. Unlike chemotherapy or radiation, Herceptin has no disabling side effects. It works by inactivating Her-2/neu--a protein that makes cancer cells grow especially quickly-- produced by a gene found in 25 to 30 percent of all breast tumors. Herceptin caused some patients' cancers to disappear completely; in others, it slowed the progression of the disease and gave the women months or years they wouldn't otherwise have had. Herceptin is the first treatment targeted at a gene defect that gives rise to cancer. It marks the beginning of a new era of treatment for all kinds of cancers. Robert Bazell presents a riveting account of how Herceptin was born. Her-2 is a story of dramatic discoveries and strong personalities, showing the combination of scientific investigation, money, politics, ego, corporate decisions, patient activism, and luck involved in moving this groundbreaking drug from the lab to a patient's bedside. Bazell's deft portraits introduce us to the remarkable people instrumental in Herceptin's history, including Dr. Dennis Slamon, the driven UCLA oncologist who played the primary role in developing the treatment; Lily Tartikoff, wife of television executive Brandon Tartikoff, who tapped into Hollywood money and glamour to help fund Slamon's research; and Marti Nelson, who inspired the activists who lobbied for a "compassionate use" program that would allow women outside the clinical trials to have access to the limited supplies of Herceptin prior to FDA approval of the drug. And throughout there are the stories of the heroic women with advanced breast cancer who volunteered for the trials, risking what time they had left on an unproven treatment. Meticulously researched, written with clarity and compassion, Her-2 is masterly reporting on cutting-edge science.

"Updated with images and a new introduction on recent controversies"--Cover.

Daring, sly, and unlike any other book you’ve read, this memoir-in-poems tackles cancer with a bawdy wit guaranteed to “make you laugh in cancer’s face” (Marisa Acocella Marchetto, author of Cancer Vixen). As a vibrant woman in her late thirties, a mother of two, poet, artist, and teacher, Micki Myers decided to confront her cancer diagnosis head on with the sharpest tools in her arsenal: namely, her sense of humor and unbridled poetic license. The result is a charming, poignant, laugh-out-loud collection that hits all the highs (morphine) and lows (everything else) of being a cancer patient and surviving with your spirit intact (even if your boobs are not). It’s Probably Nothing. . .* provides the perfect blend of wit and pathos to help you or a loved one achieve much-needed perspective on this frightening journey, whether recently diagnosed or reveling in remission. From losing your hair (even, ahem, down there) and gaining two bouncy silicone strangers, to the pitfalls of marijuana therapy and the endless chemo-room muzak “that makes you think / sur­vival might be overrated,” Myers reminds you that you’re not alone and that it’s okay to laugh.

This original animal alphabet series with its sophisticated imagery was created to appeal to adults but children delight in it as well. The book explores unusual imagery juxtapositions pairing alphabet letters with animals and unexpected objects beginning with that same letter. The series started when artist Leslie Haines discovered a human-faced walrus in an old engraving book. She was so drawn to that image that she felt inspired to create a visual story with the walrus as the central figure. The cicada-carrying cat was next, and from there, the rest of the alphabet was not far behind. Letterpress type, vintage engravings, original drawings, found objects, photography, and old book pages all mix together in collages that reveal original, inventive, and humorous scenarios. Animal Abecedary is truly a one-of-a-kind alphabet book that will bring hours of enjoyment and discovery to all ages.

The Second Edition of TNM Staging Atlas with Oncoanatomy has been updated to include all new cancer staging information from the Seventh Edition of the AJCC Cancer Staging Manual. The atlas presents cancer staging in a highly visual rapid-reference format, with clear full-color diagrams and TNM stages by organ site. The illustrations are three-dimensional, three-planar cross-sectional presentations of primary anatomy and regional nodal anatomy. They show the anatomic features identifiable on physical and/or radiologic examination and the anatomic extent of cancer spread which is the basis for staging. A color code indicates the spectrum of cancer progression at primary sites (T) and lymph node regions (N). The text then rapidly reviews metastatic spread patterns and their incidence. For this edition, CT or MRI images have been added to all site-specific chapters to further detail cancer spread and help plan treatment. Staging charts have been updated to reflect changes in AJCC guidelines, and survival curves from AJCC have been added.

If you or a friend have been recently diagnosed with cancer, this book is intended to be an oasis from the medical procedures, tough decisions, and daily chores of getting well. This book is here to give you a safe place in the middle of the storm, and to build your strength and courage along the way. Be hopeful, be safe, and be brave. Each day is a new adventure and the twenty-six words from the alphabet are here to be your ally. This book is designed to help you be mindful during this time of treatment. It follows a similar pattern of my book, Breast Cancer: A-Z Mindful Practices. It is designed to help you think, cope, respond, and practice self-help tools that will make this journey a little easier for you along your path. You might even want to think of it as a flashlight in your tool-box. It will help you explore, examine, and expand your awareness of the many ways of coping with this challenging disease.

A beautiful collection of handwritten letters that offer strength and comfort to women living with breast cancer. Written by compassionate strangers—many of whom have gone through their own health battles—these heartfelt letters contain empathy, inspiration, and humor to help you overcome difficult moments. They were gathered by Girls Love Mail, an organization that provides support to people diagnosed with breast cancer. Also including beautiful illustrations, this is a book that can bring light to dark moments and make readers feel less alone during stressful and hard times.