Positive Results: Making the Best Decisions When You're at High Risk for Breast or Ovarian Cancer [Paperback]

Joi L. Morris (Author), Ora K. Gordon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 23, 2010

This unique and important guidebook is a single, comprehensive source of information and advice to help women (and some men) at high risk for breast and for ovarian cancer because of family history and genetic profile. One part memoir, three parts 'how to' manual, this book explains in a clear and steady manner the myths and realities of 'the breast cancer genes'. It lays out all the options in easy-to-follow, compassionate language. It will help women and men to decide if they want to pursue genetic testing, guide them in interpreting their test results, and give them a sound basis for making the life-saving decisions required to manage their risks. Authors Joi Morris and Dr Ora Karp Gordon cover all of the latest medical options, including genetic testing for breast cancer risk, breast cancer surveillance, assessing risk, mastectomy and breast reconstruction ovarian cancer surveillance, surgery, managing menopause, and cancer risks in men who carry mutations on BRCA genes. Along the way, Joi tells her personal story and that of other women and men who have made the gut-wrenching decisions required to survive in this world of astronomical risk. At the age of forty-two, Joi learned that she has a genetic mutation on a gene known as BRCA2. The test results meant that her risk of getting breast cancer could be as high as 84 percent by age seventy, and that her risk for ovarian cancer was also high. Compounding her risk was the fact that her mother had developed breast cancer in her forties. After much research and consultation, the result of which is this book, Joi made the difficult decision of undergoing prophylactic mastectomies. This straight-forward and practical approach combined with the poignant personal experience of a woman at risk facing these challenging decisions will provide readers with the feeling that they have had the benefit of a long conversation with both a trusted physician and a friend who has just gone through the same uncertainties they are facing.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I realized upon first meeting Joi many years ago that she is a positive influence on all who know her. Having taken a journey with breast cancer, although a different journey than Joi's, I appreciated every second of Positive Results. This is a courageous, generous, open, honest, compassionate, and daring book. Positive Results is inspiring, empowering, enlightening, amazing, and, for some women, will be a lifesaving encounter with this author, who can guide them to the place where she stands next to the light at the end of the tunnel." --Kate Jackson, actress, director, speaker

"Morris and Gordon summarize a wealth of information about the genes for hereditary breast cancer so that women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation may have a single reference to guide them when faced with difficult decisions about risk management." --Steven Narod, MD, Canada Research Chair in Breast Cancer, Women's College Hospital, Toronto

"Positive Results: Making the Best Decisions When You're at High Risk of Breast or Ovarian Cancer is a book long overdue. It demystifies the BRCA journey and provides a roadmap to guide, teach, inspire, and comfort." --Selma Schimmel, founder & CEO of Vital Options International. Host of The Group Room® cancer talk radio show and author of Cancer Talk: Voices of Hope and Endurance from The Group Room, the World's Largest Cancer Support Group.

"I learned I was positive for the BRCA2 mutation at age 34 -- 7 years younger than my mother was at her first diagnosis of breast cancer. Shortly thereafter, facing unthinkable choices and desperate for information, I had the good fortune to meet Joi and read Positive Results. This book answered every question I had, anticipated many that hadn't yet occurred to me, and continues to serve as an invaluable resource as I weigh my risk management options. Positive Results has helped me to take an informed, proactive approach to my genetic status, and I would recommend it to anyone at high risk for breast and ovarian cancer, at every step of his or her journey." --Suzanne Ennis, BRCA2+, Manhattan Beach, CA

"Positive Results is a superbly written guidebook for men and women whose families are afflicted with breast or ovarian cancer....Everybody needs to read this book!!" ----Howard C. Mandel M.D., former Chief of Gynecology of Century City Hospital and Chief of Gynecology and Chief of Surgery of Century City Doctors' Hospital

About the Author

Joi L. Morris (Santa Monica, CA) is an attorney and BRCA2-positive mother of two. She is an outreach coordinator for FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered) and an Advocate in Science for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Ora Karp Gordon, MD, MS (Tarzana, CA) is director of the GenRISK Adult Genetics Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, the largest clinical adult genetics program on the West Coast. She is also codirector of the Cedars-Sinai Gilda Radner Ovarian and Breast Cancer Screening Program for high-risk women and associate professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 395 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (February 23, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591027764
• ISBN-13: 978-1591027768
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #222,987 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #97 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Aging > Cancer > Breast Cancer

More About the Author

Joi L. Morris (Santa Monica, CA) is a BRCA2-positive mother of two. She went to law school in Nashville at Vanderbilt University then moved to Los Angeles in 1989 to launch her legal career. After practicing law in Los Angeles for 13 years, Joi took the leap to become a stay-at-home mom. Never one to be idle, she immediately replaced paying work with volunteer work. Joi now devotes her time to raising her children and to breast cancer advocacy, including providing peer support for women who are struggling to decide what to do about their genetically inherited breast and ovarian cancer risk. She is an Outreach Coordinator for Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE) -- the national organization for women at high risk of breast and ovarian cancer -- in Los Angeles, California and is an Advocate in Science for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timely, Comprehensive, & Invaluable Resource, April 14, 2010

By 

Julie E. Miller - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Positive Results: Making the Best Decisions When You're at High Risk for Breast or Ovarian Cancer (Paperback)

There are numerous books written by gifted medical professions, among them authors Atul Gawande and Sherman Nuland, that chronicle their personal experiences in the field and discuss how the body operates and fights diseases. 'Positive Results' stands out from the pack because of its novelty, offering multiple layers of personal and medical insight targeted to an important segment of the population, those at high risk of breast and ovarian cancer. It is the personal journey of author Joi Morris including key stages in her decision-making processes as a BRCA carrier and simultaneously, in conjunction with her co-author, Dr. Ora Gordon, it provides a comprehensive medical resource of the latest medical screening and surgical techniques. One can pick and choose which chapters to read based on his/her mindset, and the medical terminology and descriptions are easy for a 'lay person' to understand. It is a must-read for women and men with family histories, those considering BRCA genetic testing, those currently fighting cancer, and for those loved ones supporting this at-risk population. Individuals with these backgrounds will find 'Positive Results' to be an invaluable resource, allowing one to feel empowered through self-education, making informed decisions, and feeling hopeful about one's future health. For cancer survivors and their loved ones, it also offers a message of hope, that they are part of a larger connected community. I wish this book and the knowledge available now had been available 20 years ago, back when my mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. As both a scientist and the BRCA positive daughter of a mother deceased from ovarian cancer, this book profoundly satisfied me on multiple levels, alleviating my questions and concerns and empowering me. The authors have truly done an invaluable service.
-Julie Miller, neuroscientist, Ph.D.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple, not simplistic...., January 26, 2010

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R. E. Barlow (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Positive Results: Making the Best Decisions When You're at High Risk for Breast or Ovarian Cancer (Paperback)

This book is so lucid and clear. The authors provide comprehensive and up to date information. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about hereditary female cancers and how to make sense of evaluating risks that they, or a loved one, may be facing. This book is truly a gift to someone like me, who is genetically at high risk of breast or ovarian cancer and must decide how best to stay healthy and to help my daughters stay healthy too.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an essential resource, February 20, 2010

By 

Steve (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Positive Results: Making the Best Decisions When You're at High Risk for Breast or Ovarian Cancer (Paperback)

I carry the BRCA1+ mutation and passed it on to my daughter. She developed triple negative breast cancer and was then diagnosed BRCA1+. How I wish this book had been available at that time. It would have brought clarity to a genetic condition that few knew about. The authors have done a great service with this book, both for men and women who are BRCA+, and also for folks who are at high risk. I particularly appreciate the fact that seeing a Certified Genetic Counselor is mentioned in a positive way. That professional is key to fully understanding the mutation both for yourself and family members.
This book serves as additional resource to any conversations you may have with your doctors and a Certified Genetic Counselor."Positive Results" is truly an important book in my view.