Living Through Breast Cancer

February 28, 2005
In many ways, Kaelin's guide for women diagnosed with breast cancer is just like all the other excellent manuals out there: intelligent, pragmatic and reassuring, it explains how to understand one's diagnosis and treatment options, assemble a "care team," handle common changes in looks and deal with feelings common among women with the disease. What sets the book apart, though, is its author's perspective: she is a breast cancer surgeon and director of the Comprehensive Breast Health Center and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003. She has since had three lumpectomies, a mastectomy, chemotherapy and reconstructive surgery. Not surprisingly, then, Kaelin's book is fairly serious, though not overly academic, and filled with anecdotes from not only her own experiences as a breast cancer patient but from many other women, too. The result is a helpful book that will inform patients and their families, giving them a firm grasp on both the medical and emotional aspects of breast cancer. Kaelin's tone is upbeat but not intensely so; her approach will probably best suit women who just want the facts without too much sentimentality.