A Breast Cancer Alphabet
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
A definitive and approachable guide to life during, and after, breast cancer
The biggest risk factor for breast cancer is simply being a woman. Madhulika Sikka's A Breast Cancer Alphabet offers a new way to live with and plan past the hardest diagnosis that most women will ever receive: a personal, practical, and deeply informative look at the road from diagnosis to treatment and beyond.
What Madhulika Sikka didn't foresee when initially diagnosed, and what this book brings to life so vividly, are the unexpected and minute challenges that make navigating the world of breast cancer all the trickier. A Breast Cancer Alphabet is an inspired reaction to what started as a personal predicament.
This A-Z guide to living with breast cancer goes where so many fear to tread: sex (S is for Sex - really?), sentimentality (J is for Journey - it's a cliché we need to dispense with), hair (H is for Hair - yes, you can make a federal case of it) and work (Q is for Quitting - there'll be days when you feel like it). She draws an easy-to-follow, and quite memorable, map of her travels from breast cancer neophyte to seasoned veteran.
As a prominent news executive, Madhulika had access to the most cutting edge data on the disease's reach and impact. At the same time, she craved the community of frank talk and personal insight that we rely on in life's toughest moments. This wonderfully inventive book navigates the world of science and story, bringing readers into Madhulika's mind and experience in a way that demystifies breast cancer and offers new hope for those living with it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
NPR executive editor Sikka bares all details of her personal experience with breast cancer in this honest, frank, and contemplative summary, arranged alphabetically by topic. Starting from A for "Anxiety" with a range of topics including "Guilt," "Mastectomy" to "Reconstruction," "Sex," through to "Zzzzzs," Sikka writes so candidly about her experiences it's as if you're reading her journal. She shares surprises finding that the chemotherapy unit was standing room only, epiphanies "hat you want most is your pre-cancer life...and you would do anything to go back to it," and unexpected advice shave hair before it falls out with chemotherapy. Whether discussing turbans and other headwear, omnipresent anxiety, or the relief that pillows can provide from post-surgery pain, Sikka's voice is calm and earnest, poetic and descriptive, and occasionally even uplifting. Those who find cancer in their lives, whether first-hand or through a friend or family member, will appreciate the raw but supportive voice that emerges here.
Customer Reviews
The voice inside your head in ink
The author was spot on with the thoughts and feelings one goes through when diagnosed with breast cancer ( or any cancer I image). It was a help to me to know my feelings going through this ugly thing were not unique. She felt them, too. A year out from "fighting" my second different cancer and reading this book, I shed tears I didn't know were still in me from feelings I have suppressed because I thought I was crazy for have having them. This is a book that should be in the "bag" of things that they give you right along with that little pink pillow.
I am on that vacation right now and don't feel guilty about it at all! I now can truly enjoy it.....