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Summary: Powerful and healing
Review: Musa Mayer talks with women living with metastatic disease, then she skillfully weaves their words into book that is useful, poetic, honest, and comforting. A daunting task, but one well within Musa's writing skills. This book not only deepens my understanding of what it is like to live with metastatic disease, I am also inspired by the vision of strength and passion of those who frequently see their mortality reflected in pathology reports and CT scans. My friends with metastatic disease have told me that this book has helped them share their own experiences more comfortably with friends and has given them reassurance on a path that is sometimes lonely and often frightening.
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Summary: Breaking the Silence
Review: Musa Mayer talks with women living with metastatic disease, then she skillfully weaves their words into book that is useful, poetic, honest, and comforting. A daunting task, but one well within Musa's writing skills. This book not only deepens my understanding of what it is like to live with metastatic disease, I am also inspired by the vision of strength and passion of those who frequently see their mortality reflected in pathology reports and CT scans. My friends with metastatic disease have told me that this book has helped them share their own experiences more comfortably with friends and has given them reassurance on a path that is sometimes lonely and often frightening.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful and healing
Review: Probably the best, albeit painful, description of metastatic cancer I have read. Musa's book addresses how metastatic cancer effects all of those people who must live with it,(not just the identified patient,) in a way that is respectful but quite accurate. One does not have to have metastatic cancer to appreciate this book. I appreciate that this book addresses the proverbial tight rope one must walk once the words are uttered, "you have breast cancer." Having been diagnosed with primary breast cancer, and having the honor of watching my mom live and die with the illness, I find myself seeking out those people, places, situations, and books that speak to my heart in the way Musa's book does.
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Summary: A book for everyone touched by ANY catastrophic disease.
Review: This book by Musa Mayer is one of the most profound resources I have ever read in my life. I first bought 10 copies of the original edition "Holding Tight, Letting Go" , with Barb Pender, on the front of it. I never go anywhere without one or more of my remaining 3 copies of "Holding Tight, Letting Go" (now available as Advanced Breast Cancer: A Guide to Living with Metastatic Disease). It is not just a resource for women with breast cancer - it is a resource for anyone who wants to streamline their life priorities. It has helped me immensely with how to help care for my 97 year old grandmother (who has heart disease, pancreatic cancer and several strokes). There are profound similarities between persons who are elderly and the plight of women and men trying to deal with breast cancer. As an allied healthcare worker (nuclear medicine technologist) this book has even changed how I deal with ALL of my patients in nuclear medicine, as Musa's friends speak from the pages as wise, kind, sages with messages for the world. I have worked in healthcare for 20 years and thought I had a very firm grasp of patient care and a feel for what was important. Musa's book redefined all that I knew. I think the word for this type of experience is epiphany. Now, when I hear docs at my hospital and at my nuclear medicine meetings try to give guesses about what their patients are most interested in - well you guessed it - I whip out my copy of Musa's book (I explain to them about the name change) and I let Musa and some of my friends speak for themselves as to what is real.. Docs are nothing short of awe struck that Musa could illicit literally hundreds of responses to her internet queries, when they, as life-savers, only get a scant few responses to surveys they pass out to their patients and their families. As painful as this labor of love must have been for Musa, my guess is that divine intervention decided that someone should bear witness for an extraordinary group of warriors and their beloved troops. It is more than mere coincidence to me that Musa's name is so similar to the famed samurai warrior, Musashi, who tailored his tactics to the mission at hand, who knew the value of preparedness and the importance of character, and whose leadership strategies triumphed in life-or-death situatoins whereby if a battle was lost, the spirit of the warrior never was. This is the spirit of Musa Mayer's book. I would dare say that there is no one alive who could read this book without being uplifted, informed and intrigued with knowledge and debth as to how to live when life deals you a difficult and unexpected hand. No matter what the medical problem, this text has information that translates so smoothly that it is a wonder that it has not been rewritten to apply to anyone of any diagnosis (and to those who love and care for them). Toya T. Powell
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Summary: A must read for anyone fighting breast cancer!
Review: This book explains it all and makes the disease and treatment options a lot easier to understand.
Rating: 
Summary: long-winded but informative
Review: This is a good look into the world of metastatic breast cancer. I've been trying to research the subject, and this book is one of (apparently, unfortunately) a very few texts that deal with the issue. Most of the "gazillions" of books on breast cancer are of the powderpuff type with their false hopes and happy endings. Not so this one: it really tells it like it is, and for that I thank Musa Mayer. I purchased this book so that I could understand my mother's recent diagnosis, and it definitely gave me insight. As her eventual caregiver, I want to know everything I can about this disease. This book shows us the harsh realities of the disease, and though the content is pretty depressing, it has prepared me to deal with what is happening--and what lies ahead. I have some criticisms about this book, though, on a general/technical level: 1) I felt like there was a lot of repetition in the book. Some of the quotes were repeated more than once...and eliminating some of this unnecessary repetition would really cut down on the book's length. Which brings me to 2) The book is terribly long, and I feel like the same thing could have been said in a more pared down version (including removal of the repeated quotes). Length is a problem for those of us who are suddenly overwhelmed with so much extra responsibility from a sick loved one...and, as in my mother's case, though a patient could benefit from some of the book's information they may be very tired, uncomfortable, stressed, depressed, confused and therefore cannot read many pages at a time. If you are looking for a book on this subject...and if you have the time and energy to read it...then by all means do! It's one of the few you'll find that deal with advanced breast cancer, and though it's realities may give you a harsh slap in the face it's definitely calming to prepare yourself for the inevitabilities.
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Summary: If you buy ONE book on advanced breast cancer, buy THIS!
Review: With a close relative fighting breast cancer, I've bought and read a number of books out there. This is by far the BEST I've come acroos and the ONLY one that honestly discusses the realities of breast disease. Most of the books I came across were either vague or didn't go into detail about the realities of advanced breast cancer, perhaps trying to remain upbeat. What I wanted was real information and this book filled the bill, whle also containing impeccable research and plenty of personal experiences and stories. Not a doom-and-gloom book by any means, it contains its fair share of survival stories but also presents the information that patients and families need to cope with breast cancer, find appopriate treatment, deal with side effects and get on with living as full a life as possible at every step. There is also a list of orgnanizational web sites, extensive bibliography,resources, areas to find financial assistance and more. If you want riveting tales of actual cancer patients AS WELL AS solid information, this is the book you want. I'd recommend this one before any other.
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