Not Just One in Eight: Stories of Breast Cancer Survivors and Their Families [Paperback]

Barbara F. Stevens (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2000

The words "you have breast cancer" have the power to terrify a woman and the people who love her, irrevocably changing their lives forever. The underlying premise of Not Just One in Eight is that breast cancer, like other life-threatening diseases, is not a one-person disease. It is above all a family disease-one that tests the mettle of each family member.

Not Just One in Eight is the culmination of the author's five-year odyssey to understand the physical and emotional ramifications of a breast cancer diagnosis, from the moment of its pronouncement, to how a woman and her family experience the disease.

Not Just One in Eight focuses on nineteen breast cancer survivors; eighteen women and one man. Each story chronicles one survivor and their support team. By weaving together the survivor and the support team's perceptions, the true picture is revealed in one coherent story. How did each person handle the diagnosis? What medical decisions were made? How and why did they reach those decisions? What fears did they confront? Were relationships strengthened or weakened? How did children cope? Did the fear of dying increase or decrease with time? Each story ends with a postscript: Where are they today?

Patricia A. Ganz, M.D., a renowned oncologist and researcher, explains the latest breast cancer research. Janis Raynak, a malpractice attorney with an emphasis on breast cancer cases, reveals how women can prevent a misdiagnosis, and offers recourse if a misdiagnosis is made. Lastly, the survivor and her partner candidly discuss their views on sex and sexuality. How did and how does a breast cancer diagnosis affect this very important part of our lives.

As a survivor and the daughter of a mother who had breast cancer, Stevens provides a compassionate, informative and provocative look at how a woman and her family can survive a breast cancer diagnosis.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Breast cancer is not a one-person diagnosis," writes author Barbara F. Stevens. "It is a family diagnosis." Stevens, a breast cancer survivor whose mother also had breast cancer (though she died of ovarian cancer), interviewed 300 breast cancer survivors and their families to learn the personal truth about this disease--not just the medical decisions and treatments, but how the survivor and their family and loved ones coped. Not Just One in Eight presents 19 of their stories.

Each story draws us in and holds us captive, as the breast cancer survivor tells about life before and after the diagnosis, including treatments and emotional reactions. Loved ones contribute their observations and feelings, so we get a collage of intimate perspectives and anecdotes. Sometimes the loved ones are wonderfully supportive; other times, they cannot cope and the relationship is disrupted. Sometimes their reactions are shocking, for example, a sister who said, "Well, it's a good thing your breasts are so small because that means you don't have much to lose!" A few marriages dissolve. Postscripts bring us up to date on what has happened since the interviews. Many report, "My health is excellent," but some have not survived.

After the stories, Stevens offers chapters on how close we are to a cure and how to lessen the chance of being misdiagnosed. A section on sexuality is particularly strong ("what you really want to know that nobody will talk about"), with quotes from the women (including single, married, and lesbian women) and their partners about sex after a mastectomy.

This is a powerful, moving book, with lessons for all of us. --Joan Price

From Publishers Weekly

The 19 women and one man (yes, men get breast cancer) in this study had a wide range of experiences, but the emotional ripple effect of the illnessAnot only on them but on the important people in their livesAis apparent in all of these stories. Stevens, herself a breast cancer survivor, has conducted extensive and illuminating interviews with these patients as well as with spouses, parents, siblings, children and friends, who had a range of responses. Many husbands stood by their wives during and after surgery, but several marriages collapsed under the strain. As Stevens also makes clear, patients followed different paths in their treatment. While, for instance, some decided on immediate reconstruction after a mastectomy, Lolly Champion feared the procedure would "hinder early detection if there were a recurrence." And while most of these patients put their trust in traditional Western medicine, Dara Kaye elected to try holistic treatments instead of chemotherapy following her surgery. Nearly half of the women interviewed decided on a prophylactic removal of the healthy breast after the cancerous one was removed; and several women have taken the drug tamoxifen to help prevent recurrences. (Stevens would have aided readers even further had she addressed the current questions surrounding the side effects and long-term benefits of this drug.) Patricia A. Ganz, M.D., a cancer specialist at UCLA, contributes a chapter discussing how close we are to a cure. This book can be tough going sometimesAdespite the subtitle, not all the women interviewed survive their cancer. But these candid personal stories, both sad and uplifting, will be of great interest to breast cancer patients and their families. Agent, Linda Konner. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: HCI; 1 edition (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558748326
• ISBN-13: 978-1558748323
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,295,878 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS BOOK IS FOR EVERYONE!, June 19, 2001

By 

Carole Perry (Cave Creek, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Just One in Eight: Stories of Breast Cancer Survivors and Their Families (Paperback)

Everyone knows someone who has/had breast cancer. My best friend went through it 10 years ago, so I thought I knew all about it. Recently, as a 6th friend shared her battle, I realized I knew very little about breast cancer. That's when I picked up a copy of Barbara Stevens' book, "Not Just One in Eight."

Today, I purchased my 8th or 9th copy to give to someone who is afraid to get a mammogram. I have given this book to friends with other friends who have breast cancer, mothers of daughters with breast cancer, husbands of women with breast cancer, and my own sister. This book gives everyone who is touched by this disease the most important gift of all: knowledge. And knowledge is the power to fight back.

I had information from 6 very emotional sources before I read "Not Just One in Eight". Now I have an arsenal of information from 20 detailed and individual accounts. Both the mystery, and the fear, is gone. I don't have breast cancer, and we have no family history, but I feel confident that I now know how to recognize, meet and defeat this "boogey man" should it ever come calling.

Every woman alive today should sleep better after reading these stories and accumulating the combined wisdom Barbara Stevens shares with us. Every man with a mother, sister, wife or daughter would also find valuable knowledge and power by investing the time needed to read this book. This book IS for everyone!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just One in Eight, May 20, 2001

By 

Nita Bishop (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Just One in Eight: Stories of Breast Cancer Survivors and Their Families (Paperback)

I am a 4th year medical student-Intern in Seattle, WA. I see many breast CA patients and they always present with the understandable anxiety and emotional lability concerning their situation. The patient is bombarded with information in the form of ideas and supposed "cures" from multiple sources. This is why I recommend this book to patients. It helps them sift through all the information and make informed decisions. They are NOT the disease--they just happen to have the disease. This book has all the information my patients need to understand what is going on, including personal stories which they can identify with. It also presents the options available and educates patients on the pro's and con's. But most important it gives them peace of mind, which is critical when dealing with a life threatening disease. It helps them move through the journey more centered and with a focus, which, in my opinion has a significant impact on outcomes.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Choices, May 2, 2001

By 

Dara Kaye (Sedona, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Just One in Eight: Stories of Breast Cancer Survivors and Their Families (Paperback)

As a breast cancer survivor featured in the book, I would encourage everyone to read "Not Just One In Eight". When I first heard that I had breast cancer, it literally took my breathe away. I was asked by doctors to make multiple decisions about medical procedures that would affect my life forever. The reason I highly recommend Barbara's book to any person that is going through this emotionally charged time is that the book's stories offer choices that are available to women with breast cancer. I was offered only the traditional procedures. After finding information on alternative treatments which aligned with my own belief system, I felt enormous relief that I could choose what felt best for me. "Not Just One In Eight" is a very timely and important book for people who want insight into the cancer journey. Make an excellent choice and read the book.