73 of 75 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book for everyone touched by ANY catastrophic disease., September 3, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Advanced Breast Cancer: A Guide to Living with Metastatic Disease, 2nd Edition (Patient-Centered Guides) (Paperback)
This book by Musa Mayer is one of the most profound resources I have ever read in my life. I first bought 10 copies of the original edition "Holding Tight, Letting Go" , with Barb Pender, on the front of it. I never go anywhere without one or more of my remaining 3 copies of "Holding Tight, Letting Go" (now available as Advanced Breast Cancer: A Guide to Living with Metastatic Disease). It is not just a resource for women with breast cancer - it is a resource for anyone who wants to streamline their life priorities. It has helped me immensely with how to help care for my 97 year old grandmother (who has heart disease, pancreatic cancer and several strokes). There are profound similarities between persons who are elderly and the plight of women and men trying to deal with breast cancer.
As an allied healthcare worker (nuclear medicine technologist) this book has even changed how I deal with ALL of my patients in nuclear medicine, as Musa's friends speak from the pages as wise, kind, sages with messages for the world. I have worked in healthcare for 20 years and thought I had a very firm grasp of patient care and a feel for what was important. Musa's book redefined all that I knew. I think the word for this type of experience is epiphany. Now, when I hear docs at my hospital and at my nuclear medicine meetings try to give guesses about what their patients are most interested in - well you guessed it - I whip out my copy of Musa's book (I explain to them about the name change) and I let Musa and some of my friends speak for themselves as to what is real.. Docs are nothing short of awe struck that Musa could illicit literally hundreds of responses to her internet queries, when they, as life-savers, only get a scant few responses to surveys they pass out to their patients and their families.
As painful as this labor of love must have been for Musa, my guess is that divine intervention decided that someone should bear witness for an extraordinary group of warriors and their beloved troops. It is more than mere coincidence to me that Musa's name is so similar to the famed samurai warrior, Musashi, who tailored his tactics to the mission at hand, who knew the value of preparedness and the importance of character, and whose leadership strategies triumphed in life-or-death situatoins whereby if a battle was lost, the spirit of the warrior never was. This is the spirit of Musa Mayer's book.
I would dare say that there is no one alive who could read this book without being uplifted, informed and intrigued with knowledge and debth as to how to live when life deals you a difficult and unexpected hand. No matter what the medical problem, this text has information that translates so smoothly that it is a wonder that it has not been rewritten to apply to anyone of any diagnosis (and to those who love and care for them).
Toya T. Powell
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18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Very Disappointing, January 23, 2002
This review is from: Advanced Breast Cancer: A Guide to Living with Metastatic Disease, 2nd Edition (Patient-Centered Guides) (Paperback)
As a person with metastatic breast cancer, I bought this book because it seemed to focus on LIVING with metastatic disease when everything else I've read lumps metastatic disease in with death and dying. Unfortunately, this book was more of the same. If misery loves company, then this is the book for you. I, personally, don't want to read about women just like me with diagnoses similar to mine and then read about their death later on in the book. How is that "uplifting"? When and if the time comes when my disease can no longer be treated, then maybe I would consider a book like this useful. But when is someone going to write a truly uplifting and informative book about LIVING with metastatic disease? Also, the medical information was very sparse and nothing new; in fact some of the information seemed somewhat dated.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you buy ONE book on advanced breast cancer, buy THIS!, February 22, 2001
This review is from: Advanced Breast Cancer: A Guide to Living with Metastatic Disease, 2nd Edition (Patient-Centered Guides) (Paperback)
With a close relative fighting breast cancer, I've bought and read a number of books out there. This is by far the BEST I've come acroos and the ONLY one that honestly discusses the realities of breast disease. Most of the books I came across were either vague or didn't go into detail about the realities of advanced breast cancer, perhaps trying to remain upbeat. What I wanted was real information and this book filled the bill, whle also containing impeccable research and plenty of personal experiences and stories. Not a doom-and-gloom book by any means, it contains its fair share of survival stories but also presents the information that patients and families need to cope with breast cancer, find appopriate treatment, deal with side effects and get on with living as full a life as possible at every step. There is also a list of orgnanizational web sites, extensive bibliography,resources, areas to find financial assistance and more. If you want riveting tales of actual cancer patients AS WELL AS solid information, this is the book you want. I'd recommend this one before any other.
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