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Summary: The best single resource on breast cancer yet
Review: IN plowing through over 3000 recent articles on breast cancer and every major book on the subject. Susan wins hands down as the best single book on breast cancer and breast health...great research...great book.
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Summary: Comprehensive look at breast cancer and its 4 stages
Review: It is rather ironic that this paperback edition was published in May of 1995, the exact time that I was diagnosed with breast cancer, actually 3 days after my 53rd birthday on May 27th. I still remember how after my biopsy, at the doctor's office, the nurse ushered me into the doctor's private office, closed the door and sat next to me. I had come alone and was not prepared to hear this bad news. My surgeon had almost assured me that he would find nothing wrong, since my exams hardly showed any signs of a tumor. He proceeded to say " I have good news and I have bad news, the bad news is that you have breast cancer, the good news is that it is at an early stage and we can treat it with either a lumpectomy or mastectomy, maybe radiation and possibly chemo but we need to do some more surgery as soon as possible and remove some lymph nodes to see if it has spread". I was in for quite a shock when a few weeks later the doctor did a lumpectomy and also removed 19 lymph nodes and 2 of the lymph nodes were cancerous, this put me into stage 2 cancer. I started reading a few books and Dr. Susan Love's book was the one most suggested by the hospital staff. One thing I discovered about this book is not to get to far ahead of things, it should be read "on a need to know basis", it is a bit overwhelming to go through all the stages, statistics, possible recurrences, reconstruction surgery etc... One book that I found to be more inspirational is "Chicken Soup for the Surviving Soul: 101 Healing Stories of Courage and Inspiration." Also having already read all of Bernie Seigels' books, I was familiar with the importance of keeping a balance in my life and living for the moment. I was able to see Bernie Siegel, he came to NH and I was given a ticket by Bishop Leo O'Neil, who I was fortunate to have worked with in the Diocese of Manchester. Bishop Leo also had cancer and passed away in November of 1997. He was a source of inspiration to all of us in the Diocese. Five years have passed since my diagnose. After 3 more lumpectomies and numerous tests I am cancer free and a breast cancer survivor. My chances of recurrence are about 30% according to my oncologist. I try to live one day at a time; "Yesterday is long gone, tomorrow is really today."
Rating:
Summary: The single best resource on breast health
Review: Like many of the other reviewers, I picked up Dr Love's book (1st edition) when I was diagnosed and undergoing treatment for Breast cancer. (I then picked up the 2nd edition when going through a recurrance "scare", a year or so later.)I found her text exhaustive but not exhausting. She's a straight shooter which I found essential when people are reluctant to give you hard truths. I read several books throughout my treament, I continue to keep an eye on the literature even though I've been cancer free for 3.5+ years. My opinion is unchanged. If you can only buy one book, buy this one! re: the previous reviewer who didn't appreciate the "horror" stories of unlikely recurrances and cases of extremely fast progression. Dr Love was making the point that cancer can be unpredictable. She therefore refuses to predict how long a patient has to live. In addition to the "scary" examples, she gave several encouraging examples of people who according to conventional wisdom should have been dead long ago but continue to defy the odds.
Rating:
Summary: Should be required reading for all young women.
Review: My oncologist recommended this book and it truly is a lifesaver. It helps the cancer patient understand what the doctor is saying and prepares her to make all the decisions which await. The first half deals with the normal breast and the second half with abnormalities. Easy to read, sympathetic in tone.
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Summary: As family counselors, we say buy it!
Review: Research is 75% of what we do, and no book on breast cancer tops this one. There are many books and literary compositions that address recovery better, but to gain an understanding of your body and what is going on inside your body, we give this one five stars.
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Summary: The Breast Cancer Reference for women who want to know
Review: Some women with breast cancer want to know everything about the disease--how it may have been caused, treatment options, prevention and living with breast cancer. Others just want to get through treatment. If you are one of the former, this is the book for you. The 610 volume answers almost every question you may have about breast cancer, and some you did not even think to ask. When going through an initial breast cancer diagnosis, it is very easy to absorb only a little of what the surgeon or oncologist is saying. This book will let you slowly absorb the facts about breast cancer. It is filled with diagrams and charts. It is a clinical reference but certainly written for lay people. For me, reading this book and some of the references, helped me to push for a more aggressive treatment plan, than had been recommended by my physicians. This book is highly, highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: Read after the fear is under control
Review: This book is easy to understand, well-organized, and a boon to those diagnosed with breast cancer. In fact, it should be read by all women & parents of women. It is serious, but not scary, with touches of humor in just the right places. I look forward to the next update.
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Summary: Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book is a must-read!
Review: This book is easy to understand, well-organized, and a boon to those diagnosed with breast cancer. In fact, it should be read by all women & parents of women. It is serious, but not scary, with touches of humor in just the right places. I look forward to the next update.
Rating: 
Summary: Great informational book but patients BEWARE
Review: This book is more of a textbook than a patient's guide. It is exhaustive in it presentation of data but it left my wife (who recently was diagnosed with breast cancer) and me at times without hope. In good textbook fashion, Dr. Love presents ALL information, no matter how arcane and unlikely to happen (e.g. paients who have a modified radical mastectomy thinking they will NEVER have a recurrence in that "breast" but there is an example cited of a patient who has a recurrence in the SCAR!!! True, but give us a break!). Others: She had clean nodes, clean margins and stage 1 Breast cancer and was dead in a year. (Also true, but PLEASE!!). We were not looking for a cushy feel good book that offered false hopes, but this book is brutal at times. Still, we did learn a lot about breast cancer (we're taking patients ourselves now!) and for that I am grateful but I really feel it's necessary to forewarn patients. Caveat emptor.
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Summary: Not the best! Try Your Breast Cancer Journey instead.
Review: This book is promoted as the best book to use for breast cancer. It is not. Skip the book, and visit the website to see photographs of women who have gone through the surgeries. The first half of the book is about basic breast anatomy and development, and not about the choices needed now. The second half of the book suffers from three problems: old statistics that do not take into account changes in treatment, too much detail on rare complications and types of disease, and too much detail about recurrence. Not recommended. The most serious flaw is that it uses outdated survival and mortality statistics that do not take into account the current treatment protocols. The result is unnecessary fear and panic. There are no good statistics on ten-year survival rates, because the current treatment protocols have not been in use for ten years. The development of changes in chemotherapy, antibodies, and hormonal therapy is changing so rapidly that for at least the next twenty years there will be no good ten-year survival rate statistics. Even the five-year statistics do not give the current picture. Dr. Love only gives one paragraph's worth of guidance on how to interpret the statistics. This can result in resignation and fear, just when one should be preparing to live well and fight hard. The second flaw is that Dr. Love's frustrations with the imperfections of medicine and the slowness of change of the medical system come through. She spends lots of detail on rare complications of surgery, and rare possibilities of recurrence. She agonizes over the fact that any lives are lost. I want that knowledge and compassion in your team. I do not want to sift through this detail when I need to get information on which to base decisions. The final difficulty is not a flaw, but a portion of the book. As a newly diagnosed survivor, I wanted to know what I should do next, what will happen next, and how I can detect any recurrences. Ido not need an entire section for women who have recurrences. Fewer than half of women who have breast cancer get recurrences, and right now, I need to concentrate on what I can do to prevent one, not how soon to arrange for hospice in case of recurrence. Instead, try John Link's Survival Manual, or, best of all, Your Breast Cancer Journey from the American Cancer Society
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