B.O.O.B.S - A Book Review

B.O.O.B.S A Bunch of Outrageous Breast-Cancer Survivors Tell Their Stories of Courage, Hope, and Healing compiled & edited by Ann Kempner Fisher

Summary:

They are not just statistics or case studies, nor are they "genetic mishaps." They are everyday modern women struggling to survive breast cancer. They share the same diagnosis but are a crazy-quilt of many patterns and colors, with ages spanning twenty-five years. Some of them are wives and mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers; some are single, some are divorced. They have different religious backgrounds, different occupations, different lifestyles, different values, and different treatments. But despite their differences, they all areB.O.O.B.S.

B.O.O.B.S. shares the personal experiences of ten courageous women—from shocking diagnosis to surgery and beyond—and the effect breast cancer has had on them and on the people in their lives. Brought together by the Wellness Community, a program offering cost-free psychological support to cancer patients and their loved ones, the ten women in this book strongly believe in the healing power of group therapy and peer sharing. Some of them have even become patient advocates and spokeswomen in a quest to make a difference in the lives of other women coping with breast cancer, a disease that strikes more than 200,000 women every year in the United States.

Written with insight, humor, raw emotion, and honesty, B.O.O.B.S. offers hope to women facing breast cancer. It also offers families and friends insights into what their loved ones are going through.

I found this book very helpful. I am currently going through treatment for breast cancer. I found the stories to be informative and encouraging. They don't sugar coat their experiences. They are honest about the ups and the downs. It was helpful to me to hear the war stories of a group of survivors.

However, if you are looking for survivor stories because you are currently going through treatment or know someone who is there are few things to consider before reading this book.

This is not a book about young women diagnosed with breast cancer.  The youngest age at diagnoses is 45.  The majority of these women have a particular type of breast cancer: ductal carcinoma. Many, perhaps all of them, are involved with one particular support group: The Wellness Community.  If you are looking for stories/experiences that fit certain parameters, this might not be the book for  you. 

However, the stories are poignant. Regardless of the type of cancer, some of the challenges, fears and frustrations are the same.  If you are looking for stories of courage, told with honesty and humor then this is a good read for you.