So much has been written about breast cancer it's hard to imagine there's anything new to say about a topic that will directly affect more than 182,000 women this year in the United States.
But in the new book, "I Am Not My Breast Cancer,"(William Morrow, $25.95) more than 800 women speak from their hearts and deliver a message well worth reading. Somewhere in this 379-page book, women are sure to find the words they are searching for and the kindred spirit who undoubtedly understands exactly what they are going through.
The topics range from the predictable - hair loss and weight gain - to the not-so-expected - planning your funeral. It is a primer for those who are just beginning their journey, but even longtime survivors are likely to find something they can use. It is likely survivors will find themselves reading exactly what they have been thinking but may have never said aloud.
This is not the kind of book a person would pick up and read unless she had a reason - a sister with cancer, a mother, maybe herself. But it is exactly what a woman needs when it's 2 a.m. and she's wondering if her sex drive is ever coming back. The book devotes nearly 50 pages to the topic of intimacy.
Author Ruth Peltason is a breast cancer survivor and tells something about her own experience with the disease. But mostly she gives women of all ages a platform to tell their stories, in their own words. Those words are sometimes sobering but more often encouraging and always genuine. This is the book you want to have when someone you love learns she has breast cancer.
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(c) 2008, Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Distributed by Mclatchy-Tribune News Service.