cover image The New Generation Breast Cancer Book: How to Navigate Your Diagnosis and Treatment Options—and Remain Optimistic—in an Age of Information Overload

The New Generation Breast Cancer Book: How to Navigate Your Diagnosis and Treatment Options—and Remain Optimistic—in an Age of Information Overload

Elisa Port. Ballantine, $20 trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-1-101-88315-0

This heartfelt health manual by Port, chief of breast surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center, describes how breast cancer affects patients’ lives. Her introduction sounds an optimistic note: not only are survival rates now at their highest point ever, but doctors are also using less invasive treatments without compromising effectiveness. Port knows how overwhelming the availability of information can be today and aims for a calming tone, cautioning that it is important to find the right team of doctors, remember that a diagnosis is not an emergency, and recognize that no two cases are the same. She escorts readers through every stage, from screening and prevention, through biopsy and diagnosis, to different kinds of treatment. She also discusses how breast cancer affects men (about 2,500 cases are diagnosed in American males annually), patients’ family members, and pregnancy. The book is teeming with easy-to-understand medical explanations, tips, takeaways, and pro-and-con discussions of various courses of action. Port also includes two extremely useful appendices that respectively take on common myths and answer questions frequently asked by friends and family. This is a vital read that will empower men and women alike. Agent: Emma Parry, Janklow & Nesbit. (Sept.)