Dr Susan Love"s Breast Book: A Detailed Look at the Leading Breast Cancer Title
For a book that is supposed to be the best book to use on breast cancer, Dr Susan Love's Breast Book falls short in many important areas. I am not saying that one should not read it. It may help to know what to expect ahead of time, though.
The number one issue is as plain as the nose on your face. That is, too much of the book covers basic anatomy of breast tissue and development instead of the information that women who read the book need the most. Women who are looking for answers do not want to have to sift through half of the book before they find them. Especially when time is of the essence, which in this case, it usually is.
Secondly, Dr Susan Love's Breast Book was last published in 2005. Surely the survival and mortality statistics the author quotes are outdated by now. The speed of medical advances in areas such as chemotherapy, antibodies, and hormonal therapy is usually a lot more swift than can be measured in five year increments. Consequently, the statistics on ten-year survival rates are especially suspect.
To make matters worse, the author dedicates a scant paragraph to guiding women on how to interpret the statistics! This leads to feeling of fear and resgination at a time then they need to be more prepared than ever before in their lives.
In addition, descriptions of rare complications of surgery and recurrence are given too much space. Instead of focusing on the facts on which to base decisions, the author agonizes over how many lives have been lost and the imperfections of the medical system. Again, to a woman looking for information right now: not necessary.
Even when Dr. Love does have some good information for the reader about how dangerous chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery can be, she still recommends it wholeheartedly. Even though she says herself that 2-9% of non-metastatic women experience benefits from chemotherapy and that these three treatment options carry devastating and often permanent side effects!
Thanks, but I'll pass on that advice. At least without a second or third opinion. After all, she is still a doctor, and has a very cold, calculating way of assessing the treatment plans.
It is not that you can't get some good information from the book. Dr Susan Love's Breast Book is still a good reference. But most women need real advice on what to do next, what will happen next, and how to detect (and prevent) recurrences.
The number one issue is as plain as the nose on your face. That is, too much of the book covers basic anatomy of breast tissue and development instead of the information that women who read the book need the most. Women who are looking for answers do not want to have to sift through half of the book before they find them. Especially when time is of the essence, which in this case, it usually is.
Secondly, Dr Susan Love's Breast Book was last published in 2005. Surely the survival and mortality statistics the author quotes are outdated by now. The speed of medical advances in areas such as chemotherapy, antibodies, and hormonal therapy is usually a lot more swift than can be measured in five year increments. Consequently, the statistics on ten-year survival rates are especially suspect.
To make matters worse, the author dedicates a scant paragraph to guiding women on how to interpret the statistics! This leads to feeling of fear and resgination at a time then they need to be more prepared than ever before in their lives.
In addition, descriptions of rare complications of surgery and recurrence are given too much space. Instead of focusing on the facts on which to base decisions, the author agonizes over how many lives have been lost and the imperfections of the medical system. Again, to a woman looking for information right now: not necessary.
Even when Dr. Love does have some good information for the reader about how dangerous chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery can be, she still recommends it wholeheartedly. Even though she says herself that 2-9% of non-metastatic women experience benefits from chemotherapy and that these three treatment options carry devastating and often permanent side effects!
Thanks, but I'll pass on that advice. At least without a second or third opinion. After all, she is still a doctor, and has a very cold, calculating way of assessing the treatment plans.
It is not that you can't get some good information from the book. Dr Susan Love's Breast Book is still a good reference. But most women need real advice on what to do next, what will happen next, and how to detect (and prevent) recurrences.
Source...