Advanced Breast Cancer:: A Guide to Living with Metastatic Disease, 2nd Edition

by Musa Mayer

Book Overview

An estimated two million Americans alive today have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Each one of them lives with the fear of recurrence, and for good reason: for at least a third of women diagnosed... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 156592522X
• ISBN13: 9781565925229
• Release Date: October 1998
• Publisher: Patient Center Guides
• Length: 544 Pages
• Weight: 1.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Down to earth and validating

I bought this book two years ago, right after my diagnosis of breast cancer and after I received my pathology report - which indicated I was apt to end up with recurrence or spread. This book was not at all what I expected. I was expecting a guide to treatment options - dry and factual. What I got instead - showed that others had dealt with this very difficult issue and so could I, if need be. I passed the book on to a friend already in this position. Now, two years later, I am facing metastatic disease myself and have bought my own copy of the book again. Knowing that others have gone before me makes it easier for me to handle myself. Thank you, Musa.

Comprehensive and Frank Source of Information

As the spouse of someone with metestatic breast cancer, I highly recommend this book. It is a very emotional read on a very difficult subject. For months, I searched the Internet, libraries and bookstores for information. Friends sent some of the more popular cancer books. But nowhere could I find a comprehensive source of information on advanced stages of breast cancer. I didn't need a book on initial stages of cancer, miracle cures or a motivational story of one individual's treatment. I wanted a book that realistically addressed advanced stage cancer. This was the book I was looking for, and the book that provided the most help. The medical information provided is presented in a logical and solid manner. The personal stories communicate the emotional and practical implications of the disease. The writing style is articulate, concise and interesting. Musa Mayer has done an amazing job with a horrible subject. I recommend you read some of the excerpts posted on this site, prior to ordering. They provide a good indication of the subject matter and the manner it is presented. I found this book personally very helpful. It has proven to be a trusted reference, and a tremendous source of both medical and personal information.

Informative and Relevant

I am currently reading this book and have found such hope from it. I was diagnosed last September with Stage IV breast cancer ..spread to my lung and liver. It was devastating, but after 4 rounds of chemo, I am doing well on Tamoxifin. This book is one of the few that I could relate to. It is relevant to my situation, offering hope, comfort, and clear information.

If you buy ONE book on advanced breast cancer, buy THIS!

With a close relative fighting breast cancer, I've bought and read a number of books out there. This is by far the BEST I've come acroos and the ONLY one that honestly discusses the realities of breast disease. Most of the books I came across were either vague or didn't go into detail about the realities of advanced breast cancer, perhaps trying to remain upbeat. What I wanted was real information and this book filled the bill, whle also containing impeccable research and plenty of personal experiences and stories. Not a doom-and-gloom book by any means, it contains its fair share of survival stories but also presents the information that patients and families need to cope with breast cancer, find appopriate treatment, deal with side effects and get on with living as full a life as possible at every step. There is also a list of orgnanizational web sites, extensive bibliography,resources, areas to find financial assistance and more. If you want riveting tales of actual cancer patients AS WELL AS solid information, this is the book you want. I'd recommend this one before any other.

A book for everyone touched by ANY catastrophic disease.

This book by Musa Mayer is one of the most profound resources I have ever read in my life. I first bought 10 copies of the original edition "Holding Tight, Letting Go" , with Barb Pender, on the front of it. I never go anywhere without one or more of my remaining 3 copies of "Holding Tight, Letting Go" (now available as Advanced Breast Cancer: A Guide to Living with Metastatic Disease). It is not just a resource for women with breast cancer - it is a resource for anyone who wants to streamline their life priorities. It has helped me immensely with how to help care for my 97 year old grandmother (who has heart disease, pancreatic cancer and several strokes). There are profound similarities between persons who are elderly and the plight of women and men trying to deal with breast cancer. As an allied healthcare worker (nuclear medicine technologist) this book has even changed how I deal with ALL of my patients in nuclear medicine, as Musa's friends speak from the pages as wise, kind, sages with messages for the world. I have worked in healthcare for 20 years and thought I had a very firm grasp of patient care and a feel for what was important. Musa's book redefined all that I knew. I think the word for this type of experience is epiphany. Now, when I hear docs at my hospital and at my nuclear medicine meetings try to give guesses about what their patients are most interested in - well you guessed it - I whip out my copy of Musa's book (I explain to them about the name change) and I let Musa and some of my friends speak for themselves as to what is real.. Docs are nothing short of awe struck that Musa could illicit literally hundreds of responses to her internet queries, when they, as life-savers, only get a scant few responses to surveys they pass out to their patients and their families.As painful as this labor of love must have been for Musa, my guess is that divine intervention decided that someone should bear witness for an extraordinary group of warriors and their beloved troops. It is more than mere coincidence to me that Musa's name is so similar to the famed samurai warrior, Musashi, who tailored his tactics to the mission at hand, who knew the value of preparedness and the importance of character, and whose leadership strategies triumphed in life-or-death situatoins whereby if a battle was lost, the spirit of the warrior never was. This is the spirit of Musa Mayer's book. I would dare say that there is no one alive who could read this book without being uplifted, informed and intrigued with knowledge and debth as to how to live when life deals you a difficult and unexpected hand. No matter what the medical problem, this text has information that translates so smoothly that it is a wonder that it has not been rewritten to apply to anyone of any diagnosis (and to those who love and care for them).Toya T. Powell