I Am Not My Breast Cancer :The publisher says: Finally, a book about breast cancer by women with breast cancer. This new "Oral History" is the real face of Breast Cancer today.

The publisher is right. I couldn't have described this book better myself.

At RecoveryWorld, we believe in meetings and sharing. This book is like being in a meeting filled with experience, strength and hope. It even offers humor and fine words affirming to any woman with breast cancer that they are not defined by that cancer.

The author, Ruth Peltason, is the co-founder of the project, "First Person Plural," an online forum in which 800 women with breast

cancer from every state and across the world had an ongoing, honest series of dialogues. Peltason collected these voices together to create this new book that she describes as an "oral history" of breast cancer told by women who share their real-life experiences of breast cancer. Because of their common experience, the women developed intense, caring relationships and openly delved into the concerns and feelings many of them had never spoken about before. Collectively, these women - identified in the book only by their 'pen" names and candid perspectives - are the face of breast cancer today.

Ladies, if you're like me, you dread the day of your mammogram. Hell, you dread the days before your mammogram. Then there's the waiting for the results. All of my girlfriends go through this same horrible dread.

The last time I went to the radiology lab, I was in the waiting room, just having had my breasts crushed in that damned machine, and counting the seconds for the technician to come out and tell me the images were okay. The techie comes out and tells me that I have to go back in and take some more. In my mind I'm thinking that they must have seen something. This is what I go through every time. Dread.

My results were fine. I can't imagine what one must go through when the results turn the other way but this book certainly gave me a fine education.

For my friends that have been through breast cancer treatment, it was a tough road. I wish I could have given them this book as a gift.

I Am Not My Breast Cancer takes the reader chronologically through the stages of diagnosis, living with breast cancer, and thinking about the "big picture." Peltason, who shares her own experiences throughout, has compassionately edited this book, which goes from juggling the day-to-day realities of being a patient and a woman, mother, wife and co-worker to dreaming about the future. The outcome is spirited, genuine, and friendly.

Every word is real and honest. Here are a few quotes;

"I feel like taking my shirt off and showing people my one breast and saying 'this is what breast cancer looks like. there's nothing pretty about it.'" - Agent99

"I'm a very proud mother and leaving this world right now is just not an option." - Jackjoy

"I feel sexy, but I'm afraid to have sex!"- gloami

"Ladies, normal is only a cycle on the washing machine." Purplepassion

I Am Not My Breast Cancer is part support system,part honest analysis from women who've been there. Each entry will remind women with breast cancer, and their loved ones, that although they are facing breast cancer, they are not defined by it.

I Am Not My Breast Cancer is a book about Recovery told by women who speak of strength hope and love of life and well deserves the spotlight here on our web site.

Check today's Sale price: I Am Not My Breast Cancer on sale at B&N.

Other RecoveryWorld book recommendations on the same subject:

Chicken Soup for the soul: Breast Cancer : Part of the "Healthy Living Series." This new series from Chicken Soup for the Soul - inspirational stories followed by positive, practical medical advice for caregivers and patients - is the perfect blend of emotional support and vital information on breast cancer.

The Breast Cancer Prevention Diet : by Robert Burns Arnot, Jim Arnosky. From one of the most visible and highly respected figures in medical journalism comes a book that can literally save lives.

Nordie's Noon by Patti Balwanz, Jennifer Johnson, Jana Peters, Kim Carols. The true story of four friends diagnosed with breast cancer before they were thirty, and the monthly luncheon that lifted their spirits.

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