Customer Reviews

Living Through Breast Cancer

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the best book I have read on breast cancer because it addresses the biology of breast cancer with the reality of the symptoms. It is written by a physician who knows what it is like to lose every single eyelash, and can tell you not only why you lost it, but how to keep on smiling without it. This book has it all - even a whole chapter on the effects of aggressive chemotherapy on cognitive skills and how to cope. When I read the tip 'jot down where you parked your car', I knew this was THE book for me - I had already been doing this. If there is only one book you are going to read on breast cancer, this is the one.

Living Through Breast Cancer by Carolyn Kaelin and Francesca Coltrera is a well-written, comprehensive, unbiased guide to the latest options in breast cancer treatment and recovery. This seamless blend of scientific knowledge, state-of-the-art medical practice, complementary approaches, and personal experience is written in a clear, easy to understand style. (And it also has excellent illustrations of current surgical options and post-surgery exercizes.) The material is well organized in a format which makes it a valuable reference tool for patients and medical professionals alike. It is a must-read for everyone with an interest in breast cancer treatment and recovery. It's the latest of over 25 books I have read since my breast cancer diagnosis, and it's the best by far.

The only problem with this book is that it was published about six months too late for me to use it as a Bible from the beginning of my treatment! It is a fabulous book which deals with every single question I can think of. It is far superior to any other book I have seen on the subject of breast cancer. It is unique because it combines the expertise of a skilled practitioner with the experience and needs of the patient. When I was being treated, I was often frustrated by the somewhat cavalier approach of the medical profession. Well here is a member of the medical profession who has had an opportunity to live through the patient side of things as well. The result is a book full of compassion and practical answers to ALL the questions that surface, not just the medical stats. Cancer breeds "specialists" so finding a well-rounded balanced picture can be a huge challenge - you get bits and pieces from different sources as you trudge the journey to recovery. This book eliminates the need to have so many resources. It is an absolute "must read" for anyone going through the experience in my opinion.

If you just want the latest research, go read the New England Journal of Medicine. If you want the latest research PLUS experience, understanding, compassion, and answers to your most embarrassing questions, get this book!

I heard the co-author, Francesca Coltrera, speak a few weeks ago. I was absolutely blown away by how lucid, informed, and compassionate this woman was. She didn't just present the book as a bible for people undergoing breast cancer treatment (though it is that). She talked about it as a a kind of lifeline--a source to go to for questions the doctors and nurses don't have the patience (or experience) to answer.

I hope you don't need a book like this. But if you do, this is the one to get.

Most books about breast cancer are either written from the point of view of a doctor or of a patient. This wonderful book comes from the education and experience of a doctor and from the experience of a patient. In knowing both sides, Dr. Kaelin is able to share information in a way that I have not seen in any book before. I am very thankful that she has provided this valuable resource for those who are just beginning the journey of dealing with breast cancer and for those, like me, who have been on this road for quite awhile. Even after 8 yrs of being cancer-free, I have found quite a bit of very useful information in Dr. Kaelin's book. This is a must-have book for every patient diagnosed with breast cancer.

Dr. Kaelin's book show us the medical side of Breast Cancer from the surgeon and specialist. However, each section is sparkled with the knowledge of the patient as well.
It's one thing to be The Doctor, have the knowledge and the experience that one learns by treating hundreds of mostly young women with breast cancer, but then, to be on suddenly caught on the other side of the microscope..so to speak, is another. Each chapter tells useful informative information that one should know on this journey, but are sometime afraid to ask.
She has the knowledge and heart of one who's been there as well.
As a Breast Cancer survivor myself, I still seek answers to those "silly" questions that nag at my mind. Carolyn Kaelin answers these all with a grace and knowledge of no other.
Thanks for giving us this resourse!
KP Massachusettes

Dr. Kaelin's book is an outstanding resource for the newly diagnosed, or even someone like me, who has been in treatment for two years with metastatic breast cancer. The book is not only medically informative on all counts, it also offers the personal side to dealing with the disease, including how to dress, eat and care for yourself in the midst of treatment. Two thumbs up Dr. Kaelin! T.G. (Lompoc, CA)

We have read many books on Breast cancer and this is one of the best. It is easy to read, easy to navigate, and provides alot of answers from a Dr. who has been there.

You never think of doctors as patients, but this book not only is about a doctor who had cancer but a breast cancer specialist who developed breast cancer. As a newly diagnosed patient myself, I must say that it was probably a greater shock for someone who knows so much about the disease to find out that she is in the same frightening position as her patients.

The author, Carolyn Kaelin, MD, director of the breast center at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, finds out about her cancer just before she is to enter a rigorous cycling event for which she trained in order to raise money for breast cancer patients.

I think the most startling aspect of this book is that a doctor lived through the same treatments that patients routinely undergo. But I think that this in turn gave her a far different perspective on breast cancer. She had to have surgery, she had to have chemo, her hair fell out. These are things doctors usually only discuss with their patients.

I can highly recommend this book because it has the perspective of both a doctor and a patient. The reason I gave it only four stars instead of five is because the book does not give a good explanation why a woman who is so smart and who is also a breast cancer specialist did not have some hint that she had a tumor. Hadn't she gotten mammograms all along? Was she considering herself too young for mammograms (she was 42 when diagnosed; mammograms are supposed to start at 40).

I can only say that Dr. Kaelin's patients are the luckiest in the world because they are being treated by a doctor who has been there and knows what her patients are experiencing, physically as well as emotionally.

I am a primary care physician and read this book with an eye toward recommending it to my patients who are diagnosed with breast cancer. I found the book to be thorough, compassionate and very clearly written. It's an unusual book. As other reviewers have commented, breast cancer guides are either from MD breast cancer "experts" OR from patients. This is the only book I am aware of written by someone who has lived both sides of this disease. I will recommend this book strongly to my patients with breast cancer, and also to their family members and friends. Thanks to Dr. Kaelin and Ms. Coltrera for providing us with such a terrific resource.