For many women breast cancer is one of the most distressing of all diseases. In a novel departure from other books on the subject, Breast Cancer focuses on experiences of the disease from the woman's perspective.
Drawing on 1,000 in-depth interviews, the book makes extensive use of verbatim accounts by women of their own experiences during different stages - from the discovery of the lump, through to diagnosis, treatment, and possible recurrence and death. These extracts - some tragic and poignant, many of them courageous and moving - clearly illustrate the meaning that a diagnosis of breast cancer and its treatment has for different women. A practical, introductory chapter fully describes the medical aspects of the disease. The women's perceptions and insights are interspersed with relevant findings and theories from recent scientific literature.
The authors are well-known for their contributions to cancer research and especially for their work on the psychosocial aspects of breast cancer and their effect on the quality of life. Their book is designed to help all those who care for women with breast cancer to understand the distress involved and the means of alleviating some of it. Essential reading for surgeons, radiotherapists and oncologists, Breast Cancer will also be immensely helpful to family doctors and nurses, and to students of medicine and health psychology.