Customer Reviews

Dancing With Fear: Tips and Wisdom from Breast Cancer Survivors

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is a major contribution to the literature on cancer, not only because it provides exhaustive and accurate information and survivor testimonials but also because it employs an artistic structure that lets anyone into the "dance" and shares with the public the "steps" that accompany it. This integration of content and structure brings us into the world of breast cancer survivors like no other book I have read, either popular or academic. One feels as if one is living the experiences with these women who speak so eloquently.
Ms. Peltosaari chooses to dance (act creatively) with often unspoken fears and thus has created an exceptional work of art as well as a superb resource for all cancer patients.
In my 25 years as music therapist at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, I have not come across a work on cancer that integrates clinical information, patient testimonial and literary art as well as Dancing with Fear. I highly recommend this book to all the people I see in my work and commend Ms. Peltosaari for her wonderful work.

I checked this book out of the library and now I am buying it, along with Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book. I also like the Mayo Clinics Guide to Women's Cancers. I was diagnosed a month ago, am recovering from a mastectomy, have Stage 3C cancer, and will be starting chemo and radiation. I love this book because it's written in plain english, it deals with the practical and the emotional, and it presents many sides of the issue. Every woman's cancer and treatment is different, and this book gives you an idea of the spectrum of what to expect every step of the way. It's also an easy book to flip through -- I plan to bring it to chemo, and I am copying my favorite bits of advice and quotations into a small journal. I hope to contribute to the sequel.

It is filled with wonderful quotations and proverbs (not about breast cancer, but about life, healing, fear, etc.)

This may sound silly, but I also like the size of the book, the title, and the cover art.

I've checked some 20 books out of the library, and this is one my favorites.

I am a three-year breast cancer survivor and have read many, many books on the subject, but "Dancing With Fear" was one of the most personal. By the time I finished reading it, I was thinking of the women quoted as friends of mine! They seemed so real, because they ARE real, and that made the book one of my favorites!

This remarkable book reflects the real-life experiences of 125 women from the U.S. and Canada who offer hope, encouragement, and practical tips on how to deal with every issue relative to the topic of breast cancer -- at the time of diagnosis, before and after surgery and follow-up medical treatments, and during the long and emotional road back to a life that may never seem normal again.

Because emotion rings on every page of this book, and because I, too, am a breast cancer survivor (see my own story on my Website), I found the book engrossing and difficult to put down. I believe every woman who is now facing breast cancer, or trying to reclaim her life after surgery, should read this book and then pass it on to the next woman of her acquaintance who will follow in her footsteps. (Without question, sooner or later, all of us will know one or more women with this disease.)

Barbara Brabec, Author/Publisher of The Drummer Drives! Everybody Else Rides: The Musical Life and Times of Harry Brabec, Legendary Chicago Symphony Percussionist and Humorist

Hi Leila! I am a survivor who has many quotes in your book, Dancing with Fear. I just got a copy yesterday and I couldn't put the book down. It truly is a wonderful and inspiring thing to read. After I finished it, my husband read it and was brought to tears. He wants to order some copies for both of our daughters and at least one friend of his whose wife is going thru cancer, but not breast cancer. As my husband said, this information is useful to anyone!

I have continued to have problems related to my treatment which have given me and my family more challenges to overcome. Unfortunately, I am no longer able to work as an RN and am not able to keep up my "normal" fast pace of life. I find that I go back to this book from time to time to get some strength again.

Many women from North America and a few from Europe responded to a questionnaire involving the diagnosis, treatment and future prognosis of their particular type of breast cancer. They offered valuable insights and practical suggestions. More importantly, these women offered hope. They valued each day given to them and looked to the future with hopeful expectation. They are an inspiration.

Competently compiled and deftly edited by Leila Peltosaari (currently five years cancer free), Dancing With Fear: Tips And Wisdom From Breast Cancer Survivors is an inspired and inspiring collection of shared advice and real-life experience in surviving breast cancer contributed by 125 women. Educating readers on the whole process of discovering breast cancer and guiding readers through an informed approach to the diagnosed condition possible, Dancing With Fear tactfully presents an easy-to-follow guideline of finding the tumor, dealing with the doctors and surgeries, lymphedema, chemotherapy and radiation, tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors, fear of recurrence, complementary and alternative treatments, optimism and pessimism, support and humor, spirituality and facing death, and aftermath and reclaiming life. For its outstanding collection of informed and helpful information, Dancing With Fear is very strongly recommended to all women at risk of or diagnosed with breast cancer.

Leila Peltosaari has put together a book that should be at the bedside of every woman with breast cancer. It is a perfect gift for yourself when you are faced with this diagnosis and for friends and loved ones to give to women with breast cancer. It answers all the questions the doctors and nurses don't get to. It is well structured to find what you want, but more than information it took me deeply in to the emotional ups and downs of the illness and recovery. I felt surrounded and supported by all the women who spoke their truth for the book. So often we are told "each woman is different, each reaction is different," but Leila's book contains all the voices and reactions and each of us is in there again and again. The wisdom, truth and will to live gave me a sense of personal power just be reading it.
Susan Halpern

I'm a breast cancer survivor and have been reading the book. I just love it. I'm learning a lot myself from reading about the experiences of others. It's a huge relief to know that others have gone through breast cancer, with varying experiences, and are alive to talk about it.

This book is for practical women who are looking for helpful tips from other breast-cancer survivors. It is not a medical book or gushy wallowing-in-self-pity book. It is very real and presents helpful stories or advice from women who have gone through the breast cancer process.