Just Diagnosed: Breast Cancer
What to Expect, What to Know, What to Do Next
Just Diagnosed: Breast Cancer is a useful medical text that addresses common concerns about cancer well.
Certified health care professional Arlene M. Karole’s self-help medical guide Just Diagnosed: Breast Cancer is for those who are navigating the complicated medical treatment options related to breast health.
Although recovery rates are high for breast cancer diagnoses, Karole says, many people are left to their own devices at the beginning of the stressful process of handling the illness. Her book’s eight chapters are divided into three sections that cover diagnoses, how breast cancer happens, and surgery and treatment options. Throughout, Karole addresses common concerns about breast cancer well. Beginning with an explanation of how diagnoses are determined, her book includes comprehensive descriptions of each test, stage, cell type, and treatment option that’s available. It also draws important distinctions, as of the difference between invasive cancer and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), the most common type of noninvasive breast cancer, to dispel common misunderstandings about each.
This is a book that aims to help those who have just been diagnosed to get the most from their breast cancer-related consults and appointments. Some of its sections focus on preventive care and suggest changes to enjoy better health; others are directed at those who are coping with medical challenges in the moment. The text is written with nuance, and its lines are empowering and coherent, even when it comes to technical medical jargon. It is also perky, reassuring, and sisterly, and it covers Karole’s own recovery from DCIS, as well as her use of elective, preventative breast surgery. Such personal information is woven throughout the book, helping to put its terms and concepts into humanizing context.
All of the book’s ample information is both well integrated and ably translated into fundamental concepts that are based in scientific research: Karole covers the differences between MRIs, biopsies, ultrasounds, and mammogram diagnostic tests, showing which advantages each has for various types of cancer. Indeed, Karole is consistent in forwarding thorough responses to common cancer concerns in layperson-friendly terms. Her work is complete with recovery-related anecdotes, and it maintains focus on what individuals can do, rather than what is beyond their control. The result is a positive, useful guide that keeps individuals’ experiences in mind, including their emotional and physical recuperations.
Just Diagnosed: Breast Cancer is a practical guide through breast cancer that includes sensible support options for every phase, from diagnosis to discovery and recovery.
Reviewed by
Claire Foster
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
