Books To Read

Hi Kelly, I found this good, it’s informative and interesting read - The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control by Professor Trisha Greenhalgh. Enjoy your holiday, and good luck with your treatment. Best wishes, Karen 

Hello,

I would advise the opposite....don't read about the cancer. There are so many misconceptions and dramatisations! You can get facts as you need them from this site or the NHS but there are so many variants and rarely are two people the same. I would wait until you have your own diagnosis and treatment plan then read only what applies to you or ask questions on threads like Awake where posters have experience of many situations.

Instead immerse yourself in a good novel of your favourite genre and forget the cancer for a week. Studying and worrying won't change anything but relaxing and enjoying yourself will give a great state of mind to begin treatment. 

Have a good holiday......

Last thing I would want is read about cancer on a sunny happy holiday!! My friend bought me a book on breast cancer…I put it in the attic! She meant well but…..

Hi KCS, it’s a very individual thing, how much you want to research before you know exactly what you’re dealing with. I didn’t read books but I did ‘lurk’ on this site and on the breastcancernow site (although I think it was called something else then) as I wanted to feel informed. It’s a fine line though between finding useful information and scaring yourself s***less! I’ve heard of the author mentioned by Karen22 and people definitely seem to feel her stuff is good. Also Liz O’Riordan, who was a breast surgeon herself before getting breast cancer. She writes very honestly and candidly about her own cancer experiences. 
I guess my main point would be, remember that just as we are all individuals, so are our cancers and the resulting treatments and outcomes. 
Hope you’ve had more information about your situation by now and have more of an idea re what is in store. Love and hugs, HFxx 

PS I realise that I also replied to your post about returning to work, apologies if I’ve repeated myself! Xx

Hi Karen, I’ve now downloaded this one so thanks for that xx

Thanks Happy Feet for all your advice and thank you everyone, I will feel more ready when I get back and just want to understand what’s happening xxx

This book is amazing and empowering and not scary. It is easy to read and gives you a sense of control in all the craziness. But take some favourite novels too. Liz O'Riordan, the other author, does some amazing podcasts if you don't feel like reading. She is a real ambassador for women with breast cancer and uses her background as a breast cancer surgeon to support and advocate for the best care and information for us xx

PS and take some good novels - it is a holiday after all, but if reading a bit of breast cancer will help settle your mind then do that too. I suspect you will finish the breast cancer guide book in one hit as it is an easy read and you may well end up finishing it before you go away. Enjoy the sunshine in Greece xx