Content area
Abstract
Dr. [Susan M. Love] is, or at least seems to be, the Marcus Welby of breast cancer, the doctor every patient who has ever spent three hours waiting for a doctor who spends 10 minutes without ever meeting her eyes wishes she had. A staunch feminist and advocate of patient rights, she co-founded and directed the Faulkner Breast Center in Boston. Recently, she moved to Los Angeles to develop and direct a comprehensive breast-cancer center at the UCLA School of Medicine. In a straightforward, clearly written, illustrated textbook, Love gives women the print equivalent of an expert second opinion, a user-friendly reference that explains everything you ever wanted to know about your breasts but were afraid (or didn't know who) to ask.
Two-thirds of the book is devoted to breast cancer, with lengthy chapters on risk factors, detection, pre-cancerous conditions, treatment options, recurrence and rehabilitation. Love has a pleasant way of demystifying even the most ominous things. "Most hospitals have two or three kinds of operating rooms," she notes. "I like to think of them as similar to restaurant types, in which the food is basically the same but there are different varieties served in different places and the rituals accompanying them are different." And she reassures the reader about minor details: "Don't worry: in spite of all the television melodrama, you're not likely to reveal all your deep, dark secrets under Sodium Pentothal." Yet she pulls no punches: Speaking of chemotherapy, she declares that "21 percent of women will have some weight gain while on treatment-gains of between five and 15 pounds. Fifty-seven percent will have hot flashes." Some women may be uncomfortable with the amount of detailed information that she provides about precisely how cancer can kill you. Love fully understands. "Some women preferred to deny their cancer as far as possible, and have their doctor take care of it for them."
The best thing about [Joyce Wadler]'s intimate breast-cancer confession is that it has a happy ending. As Wadler, 44, a former People Magazine reporter, puts it, "This is a modern story. Me and my cancer. I won." It's heartening to discover that not only did she live to tell about finding a lump the size of a robin's egg in her left breast, but she still looks good in a strapless little dress.