Funny, Touching, Summer Reading Suggestions and Yes about Breast Cancer

You are sitting around the pool or on the beach and just want to deepen the escape, the relaxation, and out pops a couple of books about breast cancer.
I know you are saying “What**!#@#*!!^???” “Where is my best seller? “Where is my Book Club Book?” Where is my Trashy Novel?”

Sit back and hear me out. ‘Middle Place ’by Kelly Corrigan is a terrific read. It is a memoir. It is touching, funny and but not really very trashy, sorry Kelly. It would make an excellent discussion for book clubs. Yes it talks about breast cancer but also about families and relationships and being a mother, a daughter, a sister and a wife. I have bought this book as a gift not just for other breast cancer survivors but for those also touched by cancer in a parent, as well as just a nice gift. This is the book for summer reading.


My second choice is ‘Cancer Vixen’ by Marisa Acocella Marchetto. This is comic book style, very hip graphic novel. It is a memoir of triumph over blundering mistakes and happy endings. Marisa is so honest about her journey with breast cancer that she makes you laugh at her, and with her. If you have never read a book like this, now is the time. You’ll roll your eyes at her follies and want to hug her with her successes.

So pack one of these books or both and enjoy a lazy day of summer reading.

www.cancervixen.com
www.kellycorrigan.com

Some People Just Don’t Understand Breast Cancer

I have to admit first off that I am not a big fan of NewsWeek. That being said, I read this story on the internet, not in the magazine. The story title, ‘The Deepest Cut’, by Jennie Yabroff. “The author off a new memoir talks about her decision to have her breast removed to lower her cancer risk and her desire to be a mother” http://www.newsweek.com/id/131985

The author is Jessica Quellers and her book is “Pretty is what changes”.
I was touched by the honesty in Jessica’s answers to the question posed by the interviewer, Jennie.
Jessica’s mother died of breast and ovarian cancer at age 58. Jessica finds out she has the same gene mutation that can cause the same death she saw her Mother endure all before she is 35 years old. Jessica made the very difficult decision any woman can make, that being to have a prophylactic double mastectomy. A carrier of the BRCA1 gene, she is in the statistically high range to have breast cancer, ovarian cancer or both. Her pathology report showed precancerous changes in one breast. Jessica takes the higher risk option not to have her ovaries removed yet so she has the opportunity to have children.

Wow, right? What courage, what challenges for this young woman. Right?
What does the NewsWeek reporter ask? “Do you ever miss your old breasts?”
How about one of her other questions, “ Were there times when you wished you’d waited longer to take the test so you wouldn’t have to deal with all this so close to your Mother’s death?”

OK, Jessica already stated her path report, her genetic disposition, and the agony of watching her Mother die; couldn’t the reporter have omitted these sensational questions? Jennie the reporter does ask some relevant and good questions, but you have to read to the end of the story to find them. All along the good and bad questions, Jessica shows remarkable resolve to stay on topic and her story. Her memoir, “Pretty is What Changes”, is an inspiration to help other women, educate and empower.

I was moved by Jessica’s story and wanted to comment on line. I looked at some of the other comments and was outraged. Some people were commenting on ‘boobs’, on Jessica’s outcome of finding a husband with no boobs and other outrageous comments. Who are these people? They do not understand breast cancer. Then there was a thread of comments about the comments. Where is the NewsWeek on line monitor? There were some people making comments that were supportive and applauded Jessica as I do. Rather than get into the fray of comments, I decided to post here!