I Am Not My Breast Cancer: Women Talk Openly About Love and Sex, Hair Loss and Weight Gain, Mothers and Daughters, and Being a Woman with Breast Cancer – An Anthology of Courage

by Ruth A. Peltason

"I am not my breast, and I am not cancer; they are only pieces of who I am. What is my heart like, am I kind, strong, loving, compassionate. . . . Those are the things that count." I Am Not My Breast Cancer gathers the warm, loving, frank, and informed voices of more than 800 women—from every state in the nation and from continents as far away as Australia and Africa—who reveal their fears, trade advice, share experiences, and express their deepest, most intimate concerns. Nothing before this groundbreaking book has captured the real experience of breast cancer. It is essential reading for any woman with this diagnosis. I Am Not My Breast Cancer offers women the companionship of other women dealing with this disease. Ruth Peltason, who has twice undergone treatment for breast cancer, has woven their stories together while maintaining the authenticity of their voices. These are ordinary women dealing with this cancer and its many ramifications. They range in age from their early twenties to their late seventies. They are the collective face of breast cancer today. Their comments are moving, sometimes funny, always honest. They speak out on every topic, from lovemaking and intimacy to losing their hair, from juggling the day-to-day realities of being a patient, mother, wife, and coworker to the overwhelming worries about their own mortality. Remarkably, they emerge with grace and optimism and a determination not to be defined by disease. Taking the reader chronologically through the stages of diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and self-discovery, I Am Not My Breast Cancer offers women a deeper understanding of themselves and living with cancer. As Peltason writes in her introduction, "My greatest wish for this book is that it offer comfort to any woman living with breast cancer and to those who care about her. If this book is kept on the bedside table, then I hope its need is brief and its impact lasting. I Am Not My Breast Cancer speaks of courage, heroism in deeds small and large, and incredible faith and fortitude." "You can live without a breast. You cannot say the same for the human heart."

Genres: Health, Nonfiction

379 pages, Hardcover

First published January 29, 2008

Reviews

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit I skimmed much of the last half of this book. I am a little more than 5 years cancer free and have been doing great. By choice I never attended support groups and after reading this book I know I made the right decision for me. I find listening (I guess reading in this case) to everyone else's stories more depressing than it ever feeling the slightest bit helpful. I continually had to put this book down because of that. It simply was not for me! I think it has its place and I can see how it could be beneficial to others therefore I'm giving the most neutral rating I can of three stars. Stay safe everyone! Pick one day of each month to do your self exams and get your mammograms every year!!!!

[Kathi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading I Am Not My Breast Cancer is like attending a support group for women with breast cancer, only better. Instead of hearing the experiences of one or a few women, the reader shares the cancer journey with hundreds of women. The 800 women who participated in the original project from which the book is drawn are from all across the United States and from several other countries as well. They shared their feelings and experiences with openness and honesty. They laughed and cried together, gave each other advice, and bonded with each other.

Ruth Peltason took those many and varied threads and wove them lovingly into this book. I Am Not My Breast Cancer is not a medical resource, it is a practical resource. It is not the story of one woman's breast cancer, it is the distillation of hundreds of women's experiences with breast cancer--young women, women in midlife, older women, women with early stage disease and women with metastatic disease. Ms. Peltason, herself a two time breast cancer survivor, treats each woman's experience with dignity and respect.

Any woman touched by breast cancer will find herself in the pages of this book, and it will help those around her understand a little better what she may be going through. Cancer centers and doctors' offices should be sure this volume is added to their libraries--it fills a void and meets a need like no other book out there. As a breast cancer survivor, I say, "Thank you, Ms. Peltason, for writing I Am Not My Breast Cancer!"

[Karen Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was interesting, but I felt it was very one-sided. The title would lead one to think the book contains stories from women who have come along their own journey of breast cancer and were identifying themselves as more than being a breast cancer patient or survivor. I read this after diagnosis and before surgery and most of the women in the book are very open about the unhappiness they experienced, which is completely understandable and real, I too am experiencing some unhappiness, but this book was kind of depressing. It is good to realize that there is grief, loss of identity, side effects, relationship issues, etc. associated with breast cancer and to hear other women's stories, so when you are moving through these feelings you realize you are not alone--but this book seemed offered little beyond the frustration and saddness, and it sounded like many of these women are their breast cancer. This is not the book to read if you want to read about the tough experiences AND to see how women have come to terms with their loss and other emotions and situations that come along with such a diagnosis. It generates too many questions and leaves one with the feeling that it is nearly impossible to thrive after breast cancer. I

[Townsville Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Women talk openly about love and sex, hair loss and weight gain, mothers and daughters, and being a woman with breast cancer.

Read cancer wellness books in Townsville

[Lexi · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book to read if you or someone you know has been diagnosed with breast cancer :)