Synopsis
Eleven months after her mother succumbs to cancer, Jessica Queller has herself tested for the BRCA “breast cancer” gene mutation. The results come back positive, putting her at a terrifyingly elevated risk of developing breast cancer before the age of fifty and ovarian cancer in her lifetime. Thirty-four, unattached, and yearning for marriage and a family of her own, Queller faces an agonizing choice: a lifetime of vigilant screenings and a commitment to fight the disease when caught, or its radical alternative—a prophylactic double mastectomy that would effectively restore life to her, even as it would challenge her most closely held beliefs about body image, identity, and sexuality. Superbly informed and armed with surprising wit and style, Queller takes us on an odyssey from the frontiers of science to the private interiors of a woman’s life. Pretty Is What Changes is an absorbing account of how she reaches her courageous decision and its physical, emotional, and philosophical consequences. It is also an incredibly moving story of what we inherit from our parents and how we fashion it into the stuff of our own lives, of mothers and daughters and sisters, and of the sisterhood that forms when women are united in battle against a common enemy. Without flinching, Jessica Queller answers a question we may one day face for ourselves: If genes can map our fates and their dark knowledge is offered to us, will we willingly trade innocence for the information that could save our lives?
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Pretty is What Changes
Seller: Mr Pickwick's Fine Old Books, Katoomba, NSW, Australia
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Softcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: No Dust Jacket. Later Edition. Size: Octavo (standard book size). Text body is clean, and free from previous owner annotation, underlining and highlighting. Binding is tight, covers and spine fully intact. All edges clean, neat and free of foxing. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilogram. Category: Biography & Autobiography; Medicine & Health. ISBN: 1741666325. ISBN/EAN: 9781741666328. All our pictures shown here are of the actual item, not stock photos. Inventory No: RB14194. For further info on this title, click on the "Contact Seller" button within this listing. We will try to reply within 24 hours. Otherwise you can order right now (inclusive of shipping options) from the "Add to Basket" button to the right. Seller Inventory # RB14194
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Pretty is What Changes: Impossible Choices, the Breast Cancer Gene, and How I Defied My Destiny.
Seller: BOOKHOME SYDNEY, Annandale Sydney, NSW, Australia
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Australian ed. Paperback large trade, very good condition, top corner tip rear cover creased, pages lightly toned, minor edgewear. 247 pp. After her mother died of cancer, Jessica Queller took the test for a BRCA mutation - the genetic marker for breast and ovarian cancer. The test came back positive, meaning she had an 85% chance of getting cancer herself. Yearning for a family of her own, she faced an agonizing choice: a lifetime of vigilant screenings and a commitment to fight the disease when caught, or radical double mastectomy that would effectively restore life to her - even as it would challenge her most closely held beliefs about body image. This book reaches beyond those who have been directly touched by cancer, and will inspire debate among all who appreciate the difficult choices that come with balancing love, family, career and life as a whole. Seller Inventory # 23610