Surviving Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Hope, Treatment, And Recovery - Softcover

Prijatel, Patricia

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199393850 ISBN 13: 9780199393855

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2014

Synopsis

After her diagnosis of hormone-negative breast cancer, health journalist Patricia Prijatel did what any reporter would do: start investigating the disease, how it occurs, how it's treated, and how to keep it from recurring. While she learned that important research on triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) was emerging, she found a noticeable lack of resources on the disease, which differs from hormone-positive breast cancer in important ways, including prognosis and treatment options. Triple-negative breast cancer disproportionately affects younger women and African-American women―and some forms of it can be more dangerous than other types of breast cancer. But there are many reasons to be hopeful, as Prijatel shows in this book.

Surviving Triple-Negative Breast Cancer delivers research-based information on the biology of TNBC; the role of genetics, family history, and race; how to navigate treatment options; understanding a pathology report; and a plethora of strategies to reduce the risk of recurrence, including diet and lifestyle changes. In clear, approachable language, Prijatel provides a fact-filled guide based on a vast array of scientific studies. Woven throughout the book are stories of women who have faced TNBC. These are mothers, wives, daughters, and sisters who went through a variety of medical treatments and then got on with life―one competes in triathlons, two had babies after being treated with chemo, one got remarried in her 50s, and one just celebrated the 30th birthday of the son she was nursing when she was diagnosed.

Writing with honesty and humor, Prijatel delivers an inspiring message―that TNBC is a disease to take seriously, with proper and occasionally aggressive treatment, but it is not automatically a killer. Most women diagnosed with the disease survive and go on to live full lives. Surviving Triple-Negative Breast Cancer is a roadmap for women who want to be empowered through their treatment and recovery.

About this title

Review

Surviving Triple-Negative Breast Cancer is a clear and comprehensive guide, a useful companion to anyone traveling the path of a hormone-negative breast cancer diagnosis. Patricia Prijatel's tone is that of a gentle authority, as one who has made the journey and is living disease-free. Her research is thorough; her perspective, genuine. Although today, there are no targeted therapies, she focuses on current promising possibilities within the patient's control, such as diet modification and weight loss. Patricia shares her valuable knowledge generously, relaying a hopeful message. (Lori Redmer, Executive Director, Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation)

A wonderful blend of memoir, health information, and hope. (Julie Silver, Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School, and author of What Helped Get Me Through: Cancer Survivors Share Wisdom and Hope (American Cancer Society))

The voice of a true friend echoes throughout these pages. I congratulate [the author] on a monumental achievement. She has distilled a great deal of information down to a highly readable volume. (Carol EH Scott-Conner, Professor of Surgery, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine)

With its blending of facts, personal information, and gentle humor, this book will be valuable to anyone diagnosed with breast cancer, whether triple-negative or not. (Madlyn Ferraro, former network coordinator of cancer clinical trials, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)

Prijatel's journalistic skills are evident in her fluid prose and the detail with which she lays out the specifics of TNBC . . . She states her goal here is to 'inform, educate, calm, and encourage.' She does so in fine form. Highly recommended. (Library Journal, starred review)

This well-written and informative book would certainly benefit anyone whose life has been touched by triple-negative breast cancer. It is written by a journalist who clearly knows how to research information, and she explains the most important messages in terms that readers of most educational backgrounds can understand without overwhelming them. (Sandra Joy Peacock, University of New Mexico Cancer Center, Doody's)

About the Author

Patricia Prijatel, E.T. Meredith Distinguished Professor Emerita at Drake University, has helped educate, motivate, support, and challenge people for the better part of three decades. She is a nationally published magazine writer, an award-winning teacher, and a well-respected writing coach. Her "Positives About Negative" blog has reached more than 100,000 readers and is one of the few sites that deals specifically with triple negative breast cancer.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0199393850
• ISBN 13: 9780199393855
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 256