Breast Fitness: An Optimal Exercise and Health Plan for Reducing Your Risk of Breast Cancer [Hardcover]

Anne McTiernan (Author), Dr. Julie Gralow (Author), Lisa Talbott MPH (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 27, 2000

Never before has a book so clearly detailed how exercise can reduce the risk for and recurrence of breast cancer, and how women can incorporate a safe and effective exercise program into their lives to fight against the disease. In clear, accessible language, the expert authors explain:

*How to ascertain your breast cancer risk factors
*What you can do NOW to prevent Breast Cancer
*Detailed diet and exercise programs that will keep you healthy and can save your life
*How to detect breast cancer early
*Your best lifestyle choices for surviving--and thriving--after diagnosis, and practical steps to maximize your chances of the cancer never coming back.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Lifestyle changes--especially exercise--can have a profound impact on a woman's risk of developing breast cancer and her chances of survival, say the authors of Breast Fitness, all of whom are breast-cancer specialists. Obese women have almost twice the risk of getting breast cancer after menopause as thin women. At any age, overweight women are at twice the risk compared to thinner women of not surviving for 5 or 10 years after diagnosis. After breast surgery, exercise helps women rehabilitate physically and emotionally.

The authors give the facts about breast cancer, argue the merits of exercise and dietary changes, and suggest exercise and nutrition guidelines to fit various needs. For example, Breast Fitness illustrates some gentle exercises to help you regain motion and strength in your arm and shoulder after breast surgery, and tips for safe exercising during cancer treatment. A motivating section of this book is the description of Team Survivor--a triathlon conditioning program for women with a past or present diagnosis of breast cancer--with stories from 21 of the participants. Weekly supervised exercise sessions, educational forums, and activities from walking to mountain climbing help women "benefit and develop both physically and emotionally, while proceeding at an individual pace." The 21 women's stories are always inspiring (38-year-old Vibeke: "I am a true believer that keeping up my exercise with healthy eating habits will allow me to see my grandchildren one day") and sometimes humorous (Bonnie's prosthesis developed a hole during a long-distance bike ride, so she patched it with her tire patch kit!). The reader starts out admiring the women in the stories, and gradually realizes, "I can do this, too!" The last section of the book presents specific, detailed recommendations for starting your own exercise program, including figuring out the right intensity, choosing activities, setting goals, and overcoming roadblocks.

The aim of Breast Fitness is to help motivate and educate women to fight breast cancer with exercise, nutrition, and other lifestyle changes. The authors cite many studies that support their advice. If you have breast cancer, this book will help you take control of your life and health. --Joan Price

From Publishers Weekly

The statistics on breast cancer can be alarmingAone new diagnosis is made every three minutes and one woman dies of the disease every 12 minutes. Newer research has led physicians to call for changes not just in initial treatment but in diet and exercise as well. In this well-organized guide, authors McTiernan, Gralow (breast-cancer physicians) and Talbot (a fitness and rehabilitation worker) show women how to incorporate these lifestyle changes into their lives. In the book's first half the authors outline the current medical findings, and in the second they discuss ways to fit exercise into a busy life, use goals to stay motivated and develop an exercise plan. There are exercises for cancer patients as well as specific exercise regimens for cancer patients recovering from surgery and healthy women using exercise as a preventive measure. To inspire readers along the way, the book is filled with photographs of cancer survivors training or competing in marathons, triathlons and other sporting events. (Many of them are members of Team Survivor Northwest, a nonprofit group that is devoted to helping cancer survivors remain healthy and which Talbot cofounded.) In addition, the authors review various treatment options in nonalarmist terms that are easy to understand. Though many of the authors' suggestions are based upon theories still undergoing testing (such as the idea that high estrogen levels increase breast cancer risk), they clearly explicate their reasoning so readers can make educated decisions about how to treat and prevent the disease. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1 edition (October 27, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312253125
• ISBN-13: 978-0312253127
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,499,734 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for all women, January 31, 2001

By 

Sherry Davis (Lynnwood, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breast Fitness: An Optimal Exercise and Health Plan for Reducing Your Risk of Breast Cancer (Hardcover)

My name is Sherry Lebed Davis and I am a Dance Movement Specialits for breast cancer survivors and travel all over the country teaching,training and presenting to breast cancer surviovrs and the healthcare community . I am also a breast cancer survivor who is always reading and trying to find answers to the many questions I am asked. This book has answered so many questions that surviors around the country ask me. Every survivor should read this book to answer questions they have now, and preventative steps they should know about to prevent reoccurrence. This book would be a wonderful guide for the Allied Health Professional. It would enable them to help their patients have a better quality of life, a true understanding of the wonderful studies that are cited in this book, get their life back on track and educate them about breast cancer. It is a must read for all women as an educational tool to learn as much as they can on how to try to prevent breast cancer. It is truely the best book on breast cancer I have read!

7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read, October 25, 2000

By 

Sally Edwards (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breast Fitness: An Optimal Exercise and Health Plan for Reducing Your Risk of Breast Cancer (Hardcover)

Three experts have joined together to write the book that every woman and man should read to live a healthy, breast cancer-free life. For the past six years, I have worked with the authors asking them repeatedly to write this book to help prevent the spread of breast cancer. I am so appreciative of them for their work - it's excellent.

As an exercise scientist myself, I guarantee that the workouts and information in BREAST FITNESS is accurate and meaningful. If you have been looking for all of the information on using exercise and health techniques to live a higher energy and lower stressed life, read this one.