Main description:

Your complete resource for handling the physical and emotional effects of breast cancer treatments.

At the time of diagnosis, breast cancer patients are faced with many overwhelming decisions about possible treatments. Living with Breast Cancer provides you with an overview of what to expect from testing and treatment, which cancer specialists you may need to see, and common terms to use to help communicate your needs to your team. This empathetic resource full of relatable stories teaches patients and caregivers how to ask the right questions to get the best possible care. The authors explain how to minimize the symptoms and side effects of treatment and outline coping strategies to deal with the stress of breast cancer treatment, including the changes in your body from cancer and its therapies. The book helps readers

* make sense of their diagnosis
* set goals and prepare for treatment
* understand the different types of therapies, tests, and scans
* manage the symptoms and side effects of treatment, such as nausea, fatigue, shortness of breath, weight fluctuations, and depression
* learn what medications and lifestyle modifications can help with symptoms
* live and cope with progressive cancer

Living with Breast Cancer is your definitive resource for handling the physical and emotional effects of breast cancer and treatment.

Contents:

Preface
Acknowledgments
Part One. Making Sense of Your Diagnosis
Chapter One. How Am I Going to Get Through This?
Chapter Two. Setting the Goals for Treatment
Chapter Three. Local Therapies in Breast Cancer
Chapter Four. How to Prepare for Systemic Treatment
Chapter Five. Tests and Scans in Treatment
Chapter Six. How Am I Supposed to Cope Emotionally?
Chapter Seven. How Do I Cope with Changes in My Body?
Part Two. Managing Symptoms and Side Effects
Chapter Eight. Managing the Side Effects of Hormonal Therapy
Chapter Nine. Controlling Nausea
Chapter Ten. Managing Constipation and Diarrhea
Chapter Eleven. Minimizing Pain
Chapter Twelve. Should I Worry about Shortness of Breath?
Chapter Thirteen. What If I'm Gaining or Losing Weight?
Chapter Fourteen. What If I Have a Sudden Fever?
Chapter Fifteen. Clotting and Bleeding Issues
Chapter Sixteen. Why Am I So Exhausted? When Will I Have Energy Again?
Chapter Seventeen. Why Do People Keep Asking Whether I Am Depressed or Anxious?
Chapter Eighteen. How Does Cancer Affect My Brain?
Part Three. Dealing with Progressing Cancer
Chapter Nineteen. They Tell Me the Cancer Is Progressing
Chapter Twenty. Living and Hoping with Advancing Cancer
Chapter Twenty-One. What about Practical Concerns?
Chapter Twenty-Two. My Doctor Says Cancer Treatment Is No Longer Effective
Chapter Twenty-Three. My Body Feels Like It's Shutting Down
Chapter Twenty-Four. What Is a Good Death?
A Final Note
Index