Undergoing a mastectomy is a devastating experience. This unique and hopeful coping guide fills a gap in women's health literature. While there are many fine books on breast cancer, none deal with the very real, and very practical issues facing a woman who is about to undergo a mastectomy and who then must deal with the challenges of living in the post-mastectomy body. Written from a professional and personal experience, Zuckweiler covers the practical, physcial, psychological, social and sexual aspects of recovery. And, she provides advice for every day life, like buying and altering clothes, choosing a prosthesis, treatments for phantom pain, and new exercises she has developed to deal with the pain and special needs of mastectomy patients.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Zuckweiler, a psychotherapist and nurse who chose a bilateral prophylactic mastectomy because of her family history of breast cancer, addresses life without a breast. Since most mastectomies are cancer-related, she touches on the basics of the disease, but her main thrust is to help women accept and deal with such concerns as phantom pain, grieving, depression, body image, and sexuality. In her discussion of reconstruction, however, she stresses the negatives over the benefits and considers simultaneous reconstruction a poor choice. Her own implants failed and had to be removed 13 years later. She feels women would be better off using breast forms, and those who choose that approach will find some useful information here. Nonetheless, the biggest drawback to this book is its lack of photographs. One cannot truly address a return to normalcy after a mastectomy without showing photos of women who have survived the ordeal. The exclusion only heightens women's fears that a breastless chest is too awful to comprehend no less to view. Marisa C. & Ellen Weiss's Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LJ 9/15/97) and Vladimir Lange's Be a Survivor (LJ 6/15/98) offer information on acceptance and sexuality in a much more positive manner. Zuckweiler's book is recommended only for comprehensive patient health collections.?Bette-Lee Fox, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What to expect after a mastectomy.,
By Mindy Greenfield (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Living in the Postmastectomy Body: Learning to Live in & Love Your Body Again (Paperback)
The authors choice to have bi-lateral prophylactic mastectomies in no way diminishes the value this book has to offer breast cancer patients. It provides a wealth of information regarding what to expect, post-operative care and reconstruction options. I found it informative and comforting.
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Response to earlier review,
By A Customer
This review is from: Living in the Postmastectomy Body: Learning to Live in & Love Your Body Again (Paperback)
This is a very helpful, caring, and complete guide for women. Contrary to an earlier review, the author DID NOT have a double mastectomy for cosmetic reasons. If that person had read the author's story, she/he would know that the author lost 3 generations of the women in her family to breast cancer and had a mastectomy as a preventative measure. That might be controversial, but it sure isn't cosmetic! This book will be helpful to anyone who has to deal with the surgery or its aftermath.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book!,
This review is from: Living in the Postmastectomy Body: Learning to Live in & Love Your Body Again (Paperback)
My husband bought me this book just after I had a bi-lateral mastectomy due to breast cancer. It gave me hope that my life could be normal again despite the loss of my breasts. That was ten years ago. We are still married and I am doing fine. Often, at my annual check-ups, the doctor or nurse practitioner will ask my advice on how to help their other patients and I always recommend this book. I keep an extra copy around to give to anyone who confides in me regarding their story of breast cancer and I wish everyone who has to go through breast cancer could read this book.
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