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Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
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Searching... | 30000010333741 | RC280.B8 F739 2012 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
"Be informed. Be empowered. Be well."
If you are concerned that the cancer in your family is hereditary, you face difficult choices. Should you have a blood test that may reveal whether you have a high likelihood of disease? Do you preemptively treat a disease that may never develop? How do you make decisions now that will affect the rest of your life? This helpful, informative guide answers your questions as you confront hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.
Developed by Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE), the nation's only nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting families affected by hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, this book stands alone among breast and ovarian cancer resources. Equal parts health guide and memoir, it defines complex issues facing previvors and survivors and provides solutions with a fresh, authoritative voice.
Written by three passionate advocates for the hereditary cancer community who are themselves breast cancer survivors, Confronting Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer dispels myths and misinformation and presents practical risk-reducing alternatives and decision-making tools. Including information about genetic counseling and testing, preventive surgery, and fertility and family planning, as well as explanations of health insurance coverage and laws protecting genetic privacy, this resource tackles head-on the challenges of living in a high-risk body.
Confronting hereditary cancer is a complex, confusing, and highly individual journey. With its unique combination of the latest research, expert advice, and compelling personal stories, this book gives previvors, survivors, and their family members the guidance they need to face the unique challenges of hereditary cancer.
Author Notes
Sue Friedman, D.V.M., is the founder and executive director of Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered. Her numerous articles on hereditary cancer have appeared in Oncology Times , CURE , Gene Watch , and the Boston Globe, among others. Rebecca Sutphen, M.D., is a nationally recognized clinical and research expert in hereditary cancer, professor of genetics at the University of South Florida, and chief medical officer of Informed Medical Decisions. Kathy Steligo is a freelance writer specializing in business and health topics and author of The Breast Reconstruction Guidebook .
Table of Contents
0 Foreword by Mark H. Greene, M.D. |
0 Acknowledgments |
0 Introduction |
0 Part I |
1 Breast and Ovarian Cancer Basics |
0 Most Cancers Aren't Hereditary |
0 An\Introduction to Breast Cancer |
0 An\Introduction to Ovarian Cancer |
0 Other Hereditary Cancers |
2 A\Peek Inside |
0 The\Evolution of Genetic Discovery |
0 Your Genetic ABCs . . . and a D |
0 Mutations |
0 How Mutations Lead to Cancer |
0 What's So Special about BRCA? |
3 Defining Risk |
0 Making Sense of Statistics |
0 Getting Personal |
0 It's a Numbers Game |
4 Hereditary Cancer |
0 Mutations from Mom or Dad |
0 Hidden Risk in the Family Tree |
0 HBOC and Other Hereditary Cancer Syndromes |
0 Plotting Your Genetic Pedigree |
0 Part II |
5 Genetic Counseling |
0 The\Value of Counseling |
0 What to Expect from the Process |
0 Why You Need an Expert to Unravel Your Genetic History |
0 Deciding Who Should Test First |
6 Genetic Testing |
0 Which Test Is Right for You? |
0 Powerful, Yet Imperfect |
0 Issues for Survivors and Women in Treatment |
7 Decoding Your Test Results |
0 Life, Interrupted |
0 Good News! You're a True Negative |
0 When No Might Mean Maybe |
0 Genetic Variants |
0 Now What? Implications for You and Your Family |
0 Part III |
8 Early Detection Strategies |
0 High-Risk Surveillance for Breast Cancer |
0 High-Risk Surveillance for Ovarian Cancer |
0 Is It Cancer? |
0 Screening for Other Hereditary Cancers |
9 Chemoprevention |
0 Risk-Reducing Medications for Breast Cancer |
0 Alternatives under Study |
0 Chemoprevention for Ovarian Cancer |
10 Mastectomy for Risk Reduction and Treatment |
0 Reducing Cancer Risk by Removing the Breasts |
0 Skin-Sparing Procedures |
0 Treating Breast Cancer with Mastectomy |
0 Who Should Perform Your Surgery? |
0 Risks and Recovery |
11 Reconstruction |
0 Delaying Reconstruction to Complete Breast Cancer Treatment |
0 Living with a Flat Chest |
0 Saline and Silicone Implants |
0 Options for Using Your Own Tissue |
0 Optional Last Steps |
0 Great Expectations |
0 Choosing the Right Surgeon |
12 Oophorectomy and Other Risk-Reducing Gynecologic Surgeries |
0 Oophorectomy Procedures |
0 Should You Have a Hysterectomy Too? |
0 Oophorectomy, Mastectomy: Either, Neither, or Both? |
0 Issues for Breast Cancer Survivors |
13 Dealing with Menopause and Quality-of-Life Issues |
0 Symptoms of Surgical Menopause |
0 Long-Term Side Effects |
0 Should You Take Hormones? |
0 Issues for Breast Cancer Survivors |
0 Part IV |
14 Managing Lifestyle Choices |
0 The\Three-Legged Stool |
0 Alcohol |
0 Other Lifestyle Risk Factors |
15 Sharing Information with Friends, Family, and Coworkers |
0 Sharing Risk and Genetic Testing Information with Family |
0 Issues for Spouses, Partners, and People You Date |
0 What Should You Tell Employers and Coworkers? |
16 Young and at High Risk |
0 Should You Consider Testing Now? |
0 Diagnostic Difficulties |
0 Dealing with a Diagnosis before Menopause |
0 Planning Your Family, Preserving Your Fertility |
0 Oophorectomy in Young Women |
0 Sorting through Emotions |
17 How BRCA Affects Men |
0 Men Get Breast Cancer Too |
0 High Risk for Prostate Cancer |
0 Other BRCA-Related Cancers |
18 Diagnosis |
0 How Important Is a Second Opinion? |
0 Treating Hereditary Cancers |
0 Making Breast Cancer Treatment Decisions |
0 Ovarian Cancer Issues |
0 The\Importance of Clinical Trials |
19 Putting the Pieces Together to Make Difficult Decisions |
0 Start at the Beginning |
0 Making Decisions to Reduce Your Risk |
0 Making Decisions about Treatment |
0 From Confused to Clear in Fifteen Steps |
0 Notes |
0 Index |