Kenneth D. Miller - The Breast Cancer Book: A Trusted Guide for You and Your Loved Ones

The Breast Cancer Book

A Johns Hopkins Press Health Book

A Trusted Guide for You and Your Loved Ones

Kenneth D. Miller, MD

Melissa Camp, MD, MPH

With Kathy Steligo

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PRESS
Baltimore

Note to the Reader: This book is not meant to substitute for medical care, and treatment should not be based solely on its contents. Instead, treatment must be developed in a dialogue between the individual and his or her physician. The book has been written to help with that dialogue.

Drug dosage: The authors and publisher have made reasonable efforts to determine that the selection of drugs discussed in this text conform to the practices of the general medical community. In view of ongoing research, changes in governmental regulation, and the constant flow of information relating to drug therapy and drug reactions, the reader is urged to check the package insert of each drug for any change in indications and dosage and for warnings and precautions. This is particularly important when the recommended agent is a new and/or an infrequently used drug.

2021 Johns Hopkins University Press

All rights reserved. Published 2021

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper

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Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Miller, Kenneth D., 1956 author. | Camp, Melissa, 1978 author. | Steligo, Kathy, author.

Title: The breast cancer book : a trusted guide for you and your loved ones / Kenneth D. Miller, MD, Melissa Camp, MD, MPH, with Kathy Steligo.

Description: Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2021. | Series: A Johns Hopkins Press health book | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020052701 | ISBN 9781421441900 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781421441917 (paperback) | ISBN 9781421441924 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: BreastCancerPopular works.

Classification: LCC RC280.B8 M535 2021 | DDC 616.99/449dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020052701

A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.

Special discounts are available for bulk purchases of this book. For more information, please contact Special Sales at .

Johns Hopkins University Press uses environmentally friendly book materials, including recycled text paper that is composed of at least 30 percent post-consumer waste, whenever possible.

The Breast Cancer Book

A MESSAGE OF HOPE

The most important thing to know about breast cancer is that it can be treated, and in most cases, it can be cured.

When women are newly diagnosed with breast cancer, the first question they often ask is, Why me? or What did I do to cause this? Before you begin this book, know that breast cancer isnt your fault. It didnt develop from something you did or didnt do, and you shouldnt blame yourself for it.

A diagnosis of breast cancer, even if you suspect it, is a shock. You might be thinking that this must be a mistake. Youre probably stunned and afraid, and because you dont know whats going to happen, you fear the worst. The most important thing to know about breast cancer is that it can be treated, and in most cases, it can be cured. Better screening technologies more often find breast cancers early, when theyre easier to treat. And with the explosion of discoveries from genetic and genomic sciences, we can now identify the unique characteristics of each womans tumor. As a result, todays treatments are smarter, more focused, and less toxic. Theyre also more effective: most breast cancer survivors live decades past their diagnosis.

If youre newly diagnosed, you probably have plenty of unanswered questions. Will I survive? Will I lose my breasts or my hair? What do all the medical terms and risk statistics mean? How will I get through something so frightening and overwhelming? Youre not the first person to have these concerns or to ask these questions. More than 3.5 million women in the United States have found themselves in the same unwanted and unexpected situation. Just like you, each of them experienced that terrifying moment when they felt a lump or learned that they had an abnormal mammogram. Stunned by a diagnosis that confirmed they had breast cancer, they were uncertain about what might lie ahead, as you probably are. One day they were fine; the next day they found themselves on an unfamiliar and uncertain path. These women have walked in your shoes. Most importantly, theyve also been treated, left breast cancer behind, and moved on with their lives.