Customer Reviews

Busting Loose: Cancer Survivors Tell You What Your Doctor Won't

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This book hit me like a bombshell. When I was diagnosed, so many things were overwhelming. I now feel like I can cope.

Briefly, in addition to cancer, you have to deal with an information overload that is unbelievable. You have to sift through all that information and make huge decisions, decisions that could radically alter your future. And you can't give the responsibility to your doctors--not unless you really don't care if you keep your breasts, or even keep on living. Deep down, I was completely terrified and at a loss how to help myself. I virtually gave up because the doctors didn't seem to care.

The book showed me how to take control, get answers to my questions, force the hospital to schedule tests and surgrey rapidly. (I even browbeat my insurers into paying for a procedure they had refused to cover. Yes!) After I got through all that, then there was dealing with work problems, family relationships, chemo, radiation, sex...you can't believe the things this disease effects.

Some of the chapters in Busting Loose I felt I could have written myself becuase they were so close to my experience. The book tells the story of the author's battle not to let cancer become a roadblock. In her case she went right ahead with her dreams, adopting a child and becoming a suspense novelist. In my life, I had to decide about buying a new home and quitting my job. You want inspiration, you'll find it here. I recommend this book to all women recently diagnosed, as well as any surivovr interested in staying healthy and finding in the disease a motivator. I love that saying: Don't waste a good crisis! The book will help you make sure you don't waste the crisis of cancer. You're going to find information you won't read anywhere else.

As a breast cancer survivor, I identified with the author's devastation upon hearing her diagnosis, the maze of medical treatment she encountered, and the renewed zest for life she now has. Cheryl Swanson's book is a quick read and packed full of useful information. Her style is fresh and witty, and the short chapters make an easy read, especially for those presently enduring cancer treatment.
I highly recommend "Busting Loose" for both patients and caregivers. While many cancer reference books are packed with medical terms for professionals, this book provides the same useful information in layman's terms. It belongs on every cancer patient's bookshelf!

I found this book hugely informative, but mostly I loved it because it was so powerfully written. I couldn't stop reading. I found myself crying in a few places, next moment I was laughing my head off.

I'm a nurse practitioner and work with a lot of people touched by cancer. The book is broken into 80 plus short chapters, each starting with a quotation. It is a great action-guide for both patients and their support team. Along with the stories, it gives lots of succinct, helpful tips about everything from diet and exercise to finding a great doctor to handling chemotherapy to becoming a mother after cancer. To be frank, most of the cancer survivor guides I've read are all foam, no beer. Not this one...it's more than a fun-read, it's thought-provoking and full of hard to find information.

The biggest weapon against the threat of cancer is the spirit. "Busting Loose: Cancer Survivors Tell You What Your Doctor Won't" is an inspirational guide as cancer survivors impart their own wisdom for conquering their disease and defeating it, with unconventional wisdom one wouldn't normally hear from a doctor. With endless positivity, "Busting Loose" is an ideal gift to anyone who is fearing or has received the unfortunate news.

Busting Loose was an exceptional read. Although focused on breast cancer the messages in this book resonate through all cancer subtypes. As a testicular cancer survivor and a pharmacist and I can attest that the issues that one faces when diagnosed with cancer are very similar no matter what the cancer type. I truly would recommend this book to anyone with cancer. As a health care professional I thought the in depth discussions about difficult breast cancer challenges were presented very well and scientifically based which is great to see.

As the founder of the Testicular Cancer Society I spend a lot of time talking to newly diagnosed patients. This book covers every aspect of what I try to convey to these young men including educating them to allow themselves to be themselves and making them realize they have to be their own self-advocate in their care, their health and their personal lives. The author did an awesome job at striking all the cords in the battle against cancer.