After Breast Cancer: A Common-Sense Guide to Life After Treatment

by Hester Hill Schnipper

Book Overview

As women quickly discover, their life when treatment ends is very different from what it was before their diagnosis. Often exhausted, anxious, and emotionally volatile, they are beset by physical discomforts, fearful of intimacy, afraid for their children, worried about recurrence. Anticipating a return to "normalcy," they discover that the old version of normal no longer applies. There could be no more knowledgeable guide for women embarking on this...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553384252
• ISBN13: 9780553384253
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Bantam
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Not crazy...

After all my treatments for breast cancer were done, everyone told me i should feel better-but i didn't! My feeling were much worse than i expected after so many months and i'm glad i found and read this book! It helped me understand that it is OK to have lingering fears and emotions and that it is normal-especially months after treatment! Maybe it's because she is a survivor too, that makes this book so great!

The most helpful "living beyond breast cancer" book to have!

Having read Ms. Schnipper's book,it once again highlights how little there is that delves into the recovery and healing from the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. The author talks comprehensively about what women face in their "third phase" of breast cancer, that of reclaiming their lives and living more deliberately despite the scars that their breast cancer has left. Her book is not only realistic, but allows women to not feel isolated now that their actual treatment is finished. Her own personal experience as a survivor and a mental health professional allows her to understand in a much deeper way what women experience as they travel this very challenging journey of living with the knowledge that although they may never see their breast cancer again, there can be no guarantees for this. Ms. Schnipper strikes a wonderful balance between maintaining hope along with the realities of a breast cancer diagnosis. I hope that this book will be on the bookshelf of every survivor and those of us that have the privilege of working with breast cancer patients and their families.

Just What You Need

At this time last year, I was diagnosed with breast cancer; my treatment ended about 6 months ago. This is the book that I wished that I had read as I first made my way from chemo to radiation, and now try to re-enter a life that seems the same but will be forever changed.The author, Hester Hill Schnipper, is not only a social worker specializing in patients with cancer; she herself had breast cancer 10 years ago. She therefore offers not only her professional wisdom and expertise, but speaks from her heart.Every thought or feeling, every phase of recovery and reintegration, is covered here, all in an easy to understand and non-threatening manner. So many books about breast cancer just end up making one more afraid; this one offers both straightforward knowledge and reassurance. For those of us on the long journey forward (and for those who love us), this book is an invaluable guide.

A Must-Read for Women Who've Lived Through Breast Cancer

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in my early 30's. While the shock of diagnosis and the rigors of treatment proved difficult to manage, nothing has compared to the strain of dealing with life after breast cancer. Anyone who's been diagnosed will tell you: having breast cancer is a transformative experience. It is emotionally overwhelming to assimilate all the information, intense feeling and change that comes after living through a life-threatening illness. This book is a great help in this process.As you read the book, you'll find yourself chuckling, crying, and most of all recognizing a piece of yourself in the anecdotes. This book is like a good "cancer buddy" who's on call 24/7 - Hester's words give voice to the myriad feelings survivors face daily and reassures us that they're all normal.The book is packed with practical information on everything from physical recovery to sexuality to professional concerns. Moreover, Hester has done a fantastic job of covering issues relevant to the wide age-range of women diagnosed with breast cancer. For example, those of us of childbearing age who are diagnosed with breast cancer know that fertility and pregnancy can be enormous issues after breast cancer. Few, if any, publications deal with this aspect of survivorship. Hester's advice in this and all areas is straightforward and kind.This guide can serve as a sherpa for women as they move from the deep-freeze of diagnosis and treatment back into the warm sunshine of thriving after breast cancer. Buy this for yourself or for someone you care about who's lived through breast cancer. I'm certain that it will become a comforting and valuable resource - one that will be consulted again and again.

The One "After Breast Cancer" Book to Read

This is the book I wish I had been able to offer women being treated for breast cancer during my years as an oncology social worker and the one I wish had been available when I completed my own treatment for the disease. It presents the ongoing challenges of survival while offering the reader practical, common sense advice and solid support. Ms. Hill allows her own vulnerability and compassion to emerge but the reader is always aware that the author is a skilled professional with a unique perspective. The style feels conversational allowing even the most complicated information to come across to the reader as entirely accessible. The chapter on Sexuality is done with sensitivity as well as humor and is full of practical suggestions. It should help many women and their partners. The chapter on Genetic Testing offers one of the most understandable I've read about this complicated issue. Information on the possibility of early or late recurrence, always a difficult subject but one every survivor contemplates,is handled well. Throughout the entire book, this reader was engaged. There is no "one size fits all" message in this book. Finally, the anecdotes sprinkled throughout the book will allow many readers to feel less isolated as they recognize their own reactions in those illustrated here. They will also learn to appreciate their individual responses and differences. This well conceived and implemented book will be helpful not only to women completing treatment, but to their families and health care providers. It is a gem.