Life After Breast Cancer Treatment

As women quickly discover, their life when treatment ends is very different from what it was before their diagnosis. Often exhausted, anxious, and emotionally volatile, they are beset by physical discomforts, fearful of intimacy, afraid for their children, worried about recurrence. Anticipating a return to “normalcy,” they discover that the old version of normal no longer applies. There could be no more knowledgeable guide for women embarking on this complicated journey than Hester Hill Schnipper, who is herself both an experienced oncology social worker and a breast cancer survivor. This comprehensive handbook provides jargon-free information on the wide range of practical issues women face as they navigate the journey back to health, including: •Managing physical problems such as fatigue, hot flashes, and aches and pains •Handling relationships: your children, your partner, your parents, your friends. •How to regain emotional and sexual intimacy •Coping with financial and workplace issues •Genetic testing: why, whether, when •How to move beyond the fear of recurrence •And much more This indispensable book will help you rediscover your capacity for joy as you move forward into the future—as a survivor.

2009 Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2009 Association of American University Presses Award for Jacket Design Chemo brain. Fatigue. Chronic pain. Insomnia. Depression. These are just a few of the ongoing, debilitating symptoms that plague some breast-cancer survivors long after their treatments have officially ended. While there are hundreds of books about breast cancer, ranging from practical medical advice to inspirational stories of survivors, what has been missing until now is testimony from the thousands of women who continue to struggle with persistent health problems. After the Cure is a compelling read filled with fascinating portraits of more than seventy women who are living with the aftermath of breast cancer. Emily K. Abel is one of these women. She and her colleague, Saskia K. Subramanian, whose mother died of cancer, interviewed more than seventy breast cancer survivors who have suffered from post-treatment symptoms. Having heard repeatedly that “the problems are all in your head,” many don't know where to turn for help. The doctors who now refuse to validate their symptoms are often the very ones they depended on to provide life-saving treatments. Sometimes family members who provided essential support through months of chemotherapy and radiation don't believe them. Their work lives, already disrupted by both cancer and its treatment, are further undermined by the lingering symptoms. And every symptom serves as a constant reminder of the trauma of diagnosis, the ordeal of treatment, and the specter of recurrence. Most narratives about surviving breast cancer end with the conclusion of chemotherapy and radiation, painting stereotypical portraits of triumphantly healthy survivors, women who not only survive but emerge better and stronger than before. Here, at last, survivors step out of the shadows and speak compellingly about their “real” stories, giving voice to the complicated, often painful realities of life after the cure. This book received funding from the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Imagine the hope and comfort you will feel surrounded by forty inspiring breast cancer survivors as they share stories of celebrating life twenty, forty, even fifty years after diagnosis. You’ll be welcomed into an inner circle of support as each woman shares her personal journey through breast cancer and insight about why she believes she has thrived for decades beyond diagnosis. Whether you are a survivor, caregiver, family, friend, or part of an oncology team, this book will help quiet fear, calm anxiety, and offer the priceless gift of hope. Beverly McKee, MSW, LCSW, is a mental health therapist and Stage III breast cancer survivor. She was inspired to compile this powerful collection of stories after planning a party set for October 17, 2052, exactly forty years in the future from the date of her own diagnosis. You are invited to meet these unforgettable women during a worldwide book tour! For details and to learn how you can join an exclusive online book club visit www.BeverlyMcKee.com.

Struggling to get back to normal life after breast cancer?You were diagnosed with breast cancer and beat it. Congrats! You counted down until the day you could put the journey behind you and return to your life as you knew it before cancer. That day is here and yet you are still asking yourself, "When will things be normal again?". If you have been feeling like you are struggling emotionally, physically and spiritually in your post cancer life, you are not alone. Here's the good news; You have a second chance at life and you aren't going to let it slip you by. This book is for breast cancer survivors who are truly ready to reconstruct their life and feel normal once again. Author and breast cancer survivor Jen Rozenbaum will teach you her methods to help you: Finally feel normal again after cancerGet rid of the numbness and enjoy life againStop living in fear of the cancer returningFeel sexy and feminine again Grab your copy now and get started on the path to discover and live a normal life again

Every three minutes, a woman in the United States is diagnosed with breast cancer. Although more and more men and women are surviving breast cancer, it is still a very frightening diagnosis, and your life is absolutely turned upside down when you are told you have breast cancer. This is a book of hope and inspiration. I wrote it for both men and women, and I believe that thousands of women and men will be helped by all the information in this book. As you will see, throughout the book, each inspirational chapter, which is a documentation of my specific journey with breast cancer, is followed by a factual account that contains up-to-date information regarding breast cancer and treatment in both men and women. In addition to it's inspirational chapters, I hope that the factual information in his book will help both men and women make informed decisions regarding their treatment options and help them understand that there is quality of life after being diagnosed with breast cancer. In this book you will read that almost from the beginning I decided that I would embrace my diagnosis and not be intimated by it. As you will read, I would take this diagnosis head-on; I wanted to feel empowered and not helpless! I want both men and women who read this book to understand that although it’s not easy, you have to maintain a positive attitude about your diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis and fight it every day. You can never give up. Lastly, although our lives will never be the same, as you will read in this book, there are tons of breast cancer survivors out there. So my advice is to live your life to the fullest and become an inspiration to other breast cancer survivors.

In Meeting Psychosocial Needs of Women with Breast Cancer, the National Cancer Policy Board of the Institute of Medicine examines the psychosocial consequences of the cancer experience. The book focuses specifically on breast cancer in women because this group has the largest survivor population (over 2 million) and this disease is the most extensively studied cancer from the standpoint of psychosocial effects. The book characterizes the psychosocial consequences of a diagnosis of breast cancer, describes psychosocial services and how they are delivered, and evaluates their effectiveness. It assesses the status of professional education and training and applied clinical and health services research and proposes policies to improve the quality of care and quality of life for women with breast cancer and their families. Because cancer of the breast is likely a good model for cancer at other sites, recommendations for this cancer should be applicable to the psychosocial care provided generally to individuals with cancer. For breast cancer, and indeed probably for any cancer, the report finds that psychosocial services can provide significant benefits in quality of life and success in coping with serious and life-threatening disease for patients and their families.

There are almost 200,000 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed in the United States every year. Virtually all of the women who undergo treatment are plagued by questions of intimacy, sexuality, and personal and professional relationships. 100 Questions and Answers About Breast Cancer: Sensuality, Sexuality and Intimacy provides authoritative answers to the most common questions asked by women and their partners when coping with intimacy after the trauma of breast cancer. Written by renowned female sexuality and breast cancer physicians, this book offers encouragement and reassurance to those struggling to strengthen and rebuild relationships during and after breast cancer treatment. It is an invaluable guide for anyone dealing with the physical and emotional repercussions of this disease.

Breast cancer is cancer that forms in the cells of the breasts. After skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women in the United States. Breast cancer can occur in both men and women, but it's far more common in women. Breast cancer survival rates have increased, and the number of deaths associated with this disease is steadily declining, largely due to factors such as earlier detection, a new personalized approach to treatment, and a better understanding of the disease. With practical tips sprinkled throughout, this book explores how breast cancer changed the author's outlook on life, offering honest insights, humor, and sensitivity as she looks for the silver lining in a not-so-great situation. Whether you are a woman diagnosed with breast cancer or whether you know someone with breast cancer, this book was written for you.