THERE ARE PLENTY OF QUESTIONS LEFT AFTER YOU LEAVE THE DOCTORS OFFICE WITH A DIAGNOSIS OF BREAST CANCER. NOT ONLY WILL THIS HELP YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'VE BEEN TOLD, BUT IT HELPS YOU TO FORM YOUR OWN QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR DOCTOR. I WORK FOR A BREAST SURGEON AND WE HAVE PUT THIS BOOK IN OUR LENDING LIBRARY.

I bought this right after my diagnosis and it was very helpful. This book answered questions I just couldn't get answers to. It also helped my husband with some concerns he had. I recommend getting it as soon as possible when you're first diagnosed. It's first rate!

I ordered this book for my daughter who was having a "meltdown" dealing with the side effects of chemotherapy. She tells me that it was extremely comforting to see in print what she was living through and not losing her mind.

I bought this book within my first week of diagnosis with early stage (II-A) breast cancer. I am the target audience for the book, and found many useful tidbits in it; unfortunately, the author seems to tend to be a worrywart. There are big differences among oncologists' recommendations, and invariably the book would sound alarms ("don't go out to concerts! don't eat a salad in a restaurant!") that my oncologist found laughable. A lot of readers might be unduly frightened by what they read--in fact, some caution is good, but you might worry far too much because of the book's heavy emphasis on the dire. If that's your cup of tea, buy the book; as I said, there are good tidbits. Plus, it's breezy and well organized, and not at all intimidating to use as a reference. But if you take a fairly pragmatic and optimistic view, and if your oncologist does the same, I'd skip this one.

I received a diagnosis of breast cancer a few months after my fortieth birthday and spent a year undergoing treatment by surgeries and chemotherapy. While I read many books and articles on the subject, this is the only book I actually purchased and kept close at hand. In my personal experience, I found the information it contained to be accurate, and I appreciated that it was presented in a manner that was easy to understand, without being scary or negative.