Another Chance at Life: A Breast Cancer Survivor's Journey [Paperback]

Leonore H. Dvorkin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2009

"A reflective and ultimately optimistic memoir."
-- Midwest Book Review

"Beautiful, moving, informative, uplifting. ... I only wish there had been a book like this back when I had cancer."
-- Lee Christopher, author of Jaded Love

"A terrific read -- well-written, frank, and honest. This book's many hard-won truths make it truly special and inspiring."
-- Nina Romberg, author of Shadow Walkers

Leonore H. Dvorkin was born in 1946 in Chicago, Illinois. She has lived in nine different states and Germany. Her two BA degrees in languages are from Indiana University (Bloomington) and Metropolitan State College of Denver. She and her author husband, David Dvorkin, have lived in Denver, Colorado since 1971. Their son, Daniel Dvorkin, has written two novels with his father.

Leonore works as a tutor of Spanish and German, a translator, a proofreader, and a weight training instructor. In 1977, she won the YWCA Sportswomen of Colorado Award in the category of Health and Physical Fitness.

Her publishing credits include numerous articles on fitness and nutrition, the literary novel Apart From You (Wildside Press, 2000), and the autobiographical book Why I'm Glad I Had Breast Cancer (Wildside Press, 2005).

www.dvorkin.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 140 pages
• Publisher: Norilana Books (May 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1607620200
• ISBN-13: 978-1607620204
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,861,046 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leonore Dvorkin's "Another Chance at Life", June 25, 2009

By 

George Eliot (Louisiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Another Chance at Life: A Breast Cancer Survivor's Journey (Paperback)

In this book about breast cancer, Leonore Dvorkin shares both her own experience and the fruit of her extensive research. Her story is presented in a factual and matter-of-fact style, but nonetheless it is very affecting. She takes us from the chilling diagnosis of cancer, through her decision to undergo a mastectomy to try to rid herself of the disease rather than risk what seemed less definitive treatments, through the period of adjustment to her lopsided front, to her normal, happy life ten years after the surgery when she is still cancer-free and grateful for the treatment that saved her life.

It's a good read; one can open it to any page and be drawn in to a compelling narrative. There are bits about her childhood; about her careers as language tutor, weight training instructor, and writer; and about her always-supportive husband. Details of the aftermath of her surgery are interwoven with the triumphant narrative of her recovery. Among the events included are her visit to a support group, which she did not find helpful; her decision against reconstructive surgery; and her selection of a prosthesis. The prosthesis, carefully chosen with professional help, restored a satisfying symmetry to her clothed front, but she found out, too, that if a bra's pocket does not hold a prosthesis properly, the prosthesis will shift disconcertingly. Such information, ruefully conveyed, is of interest to the general reader and can be very useful to anyone who, like Dvorkin, finds that a breast has "turned against" her and must be removed if she is to have another chance at life.

Other very practical information is available in the considerable appendix, which debunks some of the myths surrounding breast cancer, puts it into perspective with some statistics (for example, far more women die of lung cancer every year than of breast cancer), and lists factors that put women at risk for breast cancer.

5.0 out of 5 stars Book description, October 22, 2010

By 

Leonore H. Dvorkin (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Another Chance at Life: A Breast Cancer Survivor's Journey (Kindle Edition)

This is the story of my 1998 breast cancer and mastectomy (with no reconstruction), mainly about the surprising emotional benefits I gained. Five appendices offer a wealth of practical information on risk factors for breast cancer, ways to help prevent it, and much more. "Beautiful, moving, informative, uplifting." "A terrific read - well-written, frank, and honest."