B.O.O.B.S. : A Bunch of Outrageous Breast-Cancer Survivors Tell Their Stories of Courage, Hope, & Healing

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix INTRODUCTION 3(6) FLIGHT INTO THE UNKNOWN-DESTINATION: BREAST CANCER by Beverly Flowers 9(30) Beverly, a flight attendant with American Airlines, is just about to board a plane on September 11, 2001, when she hears the devastating news of the attack on the World Trade Center. Ironically, two years earlier, on September 11, she received her own devastating news: a diagnosis of breast cancer. FIVE-FOOT-SIX AND BULLETPROOF by Beth Butler 39(30) For Beth, a divorced career woman who is self-sufficient and daring by nature, facing breast cancer is the biggest challenge of her life. In a support group she discovers she can reveal the fears that she cannot share with her family. EYES ON THE PRIZE by Selden McCurrie 69(34) Selden is a self-described "computer geek" turned medical militant. Years of caring for her ailing parents armed her with information and a steely attitude. Both served her well when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and faced a bilateral mastectomy and the decision of whether to have reconstruction. HAPPY FIFTIETH BIRTHDAY...YOU HAVE BREAST CANCER! by Robin McILvain 103(30) Looking forward to a new career and celebrating her birthday on New Year's Day, Robin's diagnosis of breast cancer arrives on her fiftieth birthday. It is the most unexpected diagnosis in a lifelong series of health challenges. MAYBE IT WILL GO AWAY by Marion Horton 133(30) When initially diagnosed with breast cancer seventeen years earlier, Marion did not choose reconstruction after a mastectomy. Now she deals with a new cancer in her remaining breast, as well as endometrial cancer. The present disease vividly demonstrates the contrast between breast cancer treatment then and now. THE LONG BALD SUMMER by Alice Cotter Feldman 163(30) Alice undergoes open-heart surgery to repair a faulty valve, learns her husband has prostate cancer, and then learns she has breast cancer. She courageously overcomes each with humor and gains a new perspective. TEARS OF TRIUMPH by Elena Tillan Santamaria 193(30) Elena has a mastectomy, acquires a new breast, and finds a new mission in life. She becomes an advocate for newly diagnosed patients, as well as a spokesperson for breast-cancer awareness in the Hispanic community. HAVE CANCER, WILL TRAVEL by Lorna Goldstein 223(30) Despite recurrent breast cancer (twelve years later) and subsequent uterine cancer, Lorna refuses to let her illnesses interfere with her lifestyle. She realizes that she is not dying of cancer, but living with it. HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS-WITH CANCER by Alice Rollo 253(28) The family's holiday season is devastated by news of Alice's breast cancer. Her Christmas gift is a new breast-and a new life. She now uses her experience to help other survivors. THE WORST-AND THE BEST-WERE YET TO COME by Sheryl Siegel 281(38) When Sheryl was diagnosed with cancer in both breasts, it brought about the most profound change in her life: from career to a renewed spirituality, from family and friends to her new family-a support group. AUTHORS' ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 319(8) THE WELLNESS COMMUNITY 327(2) GLOSSARY 329(6) RECOMMENDED READING 335