Woman to Woman: A Handbook for Women Newly Diagnosed with Breast Cancer [Paperback]

Hester Hill Schnipper LICSW (Author), Joan Feinberg Berns (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 1999

No woman wants to hear the diagnosis of breast cancer. But now the voices of experience--women who have survived breast cancer-come together in this book to help you cope with the disturbing news and the emotions that go with it. Here are compassionate thoughts and advice from survivors aimed at making the first steps on your journey to recovery a positive one. Realizing that you are suddenly faced with overwhelming decisions and important choices, your "sisters" in the breast cancer experience offer the help you need when you are first diagnosed, as well as essential information on taking the next steps to recovery.

Woman to Woman provides the essential information you're looking for, including how to find the right doctor and understand the treatment options available to you. It also gives important tips concerning:

How to take care of yourself emotionally

How to make informed decisions about surgery, radiation,chemotherapy, and drugs such as tarnoxifen

Where to get help when you need it

0 Planning your hospital stay

Where to look for support during your recovery

Sharing your feelings with your partner

Single women's concerns

Family considerations, including children,from pre-school to adult

And much more!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

JOAN FEINBERG BERNS, Ph.D., earned a doctorate in English and American Literature from Brandeis University, where she previously taught. She was also on the School of Public Health. A breast cancer survivor, she works to help women newly diagnosed with the disease. AUTHOR HOME: Concord, MA

Product Details

• Paperback: 146 pages
• Publisher: Avon Books; 2nd edition (October 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380806320
• ISBN-13: 978-0380806324
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,640,945 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Woman to woman, Thoughts and Advice, November 15, 2000

By 

Virginia E. Hoverman (Middlebury, VT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Woman to Woman: A Handbook for Women Newly Diagnosed with Breast Cancer (Paperback)

This book is fantastic! Its practical, step-by-step, reassuring suggestions and guidance are offered warmly and clearly from a woman who is herself a breast cancer survivor. Hester Hill is a breath of fresh air--from the specific tips on clothing, meals, and planning a hospital stay to making critical decisions about surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. A vital part of Hester's advice is her strong belief in support groups--as she, somehow, becomes part of your own support group through the compassion, love, wisdom, and down-to-earth knowledge that come through the pages of her book. Every word is a nugget.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wherever you live, a comforting guide to the care you need., April 1, 2000

By 

Carol Salter, RN, MA (Boulder, Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Woman to Woman: A Handbook for Women Newly Diagnosed with Breast Cancer (Paperback)

This easy to read, straight-forward, clear and compassionate book is filled with essential information that every woman who has faced this frightening diagnosis needs to know. The authors' gentle conversational style speaks to the reader like a knowledgeable friend. The comfort of their words originates from their own personal challenges coupled with their professional knowledge of what the journey entails.

Anticipating questions and personal needs, the book logically takes the reader through the process of treatment and recovery. It provides a foundation of solid information and resources. Despite the gravity of the diagnosis there is a positive supportive tone that acknowledges that a majority of women can emerge from this terrible ordeal and do it with strength and dignity.

It's so comforting knowing that one is not alone. The resources within this book apply no matter where a woman calls home. In this technologically connected world, a woman living a distance from a major metropolitan area can also find ways to navigate her care from reading this lovely book.

Knowledge is power. The authors clearly believe in the strength of their fellow sisters. This is their gift their way to use their considerable talents to assist others.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warmly, clearly, directly written to dispel myths and fear., October 26, 1999

By 

LINDA J. HIRSCH, PHOTOG./PSYCHOLOG. (gbhirsch... (Boston,MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Woman to Woman: A Handbook for Women Newly Diagnosed with Breast Cancer (Paperback)

An expanded version of an earlier paperback booklet, this wonderful resource reaches out and supports women across a wide range of ages and lifestyles experiencing the trauma of a breast cancer diagnosis.

Written warmly, clearly and directly to each woman, the book addresses not only health-related matters but also personal and psycho-social ones such as spousal and child-related issues. It does not attempt to be comprehensive but provides up-to-date notes, resources, and bibliographical information.

The authors, Schnipper and Berns, know first-hand the reality of this diagnosis; each has been treated for breast cancer and is herself a wife, mother, daughter, friend, and professional. Hester Hill is an Oncology LICSW and Joan Berns, PhD., a very gifted writer.

I have given this book to numerous women...too many friends, relatives and acquaintances...have read it myself even though I have thusfar not become a statistic..but we are all part of this and so I urge you to get a copy, read, and recommend it. You will have saved a large number of fellow human beings from the terror of the unknown. FEAR FLIES IN THE FACE OF AN OUTSTRETCHED HAND BEARING LOVE AND INFORMED SUPPORT.