Synopses & Reviews
Evaluate Your Heredity And Lifestyle Risks
Find Out What The Statistics Really Mean
What You Need To Know About Genetic Testing, Hormone Replacement Therapy, And Tamoxifen As Prevention
Ask most women what their number one health fear is and they will undoubtedly answer breast cancer -- yet most know very little about their actual risks. If your mother had breast cancer or if you've been diagnosed with benign breast disease, it's easy to assume that your risk is greatly increased, but the reality may be different.
In this groundbreaking book, medical geneticist Dr. Patricia T. Kelly shows you how to make sense of often conflicting information about the risk of breast cancer and teaches you how to use it to make informed and confident decisions about your health care. Here you win find a comprehensive discussion of hereditary and nonhereditary breast cancer risks as well as key issues to consider in making informed decisions about hormone replacement therapy and tamoxifen use, genetic testing, and prophylactic mastectomy.
Dr. Kelly, who has spent more than twenty years counseling women about their cancer risks, shows in a simple and clear fashion why many of the commonly accepted risk factors influence an individual's risk to a surprisingly small extent, and why these risks may seem greater or more important than they actually are.
This essential guide will show you how to
decode the statistics on age, family history, and where you live that affect your chances of getting breast cancer
successfully navigate the medical system, including ways to find the best doctors and nurses and communicate effectively with them
determine whether cancer risk assessment or genetic testing is right for you
Review
"A sensible and sensitive guide for facing one of women's major anxieties...lucid guidance in how to handle the information." (David Spiegel, M.D., professor, Stanford University School of Medicine, author of Living Beyond Limits)
Review
"...Patricia Kelly is able to digest complicated facts and make them understandable ... This book is a must for every woman." (Dr. Nancy Snyderman, author of Dr. Nancy's Snyderman's Guide to Good Health)
Synopsis
Whether providing advice on how to get more extensive testing or offering the welcome assurance that the risk is small enough to warrant just annual checkups, this helpful book replaces rumors and scare tactics with solid, practical, and vital information. 15 graphs.
Synopsis
Whether providing advice on how to get more extensive testing or offering the welcome assurance that the risk is small enough to warrant just annual checkups, this helpful book replaces rumors and scare tactics with solid, practical, and vital information. 15 graphs.
Synopsis
The first book to give women the tools they need to realistically assess their risk of getting breast cancer--and choose the best course of action
Ask women what their number-one health fear is and most will not hesitate before answering "breast cancer." The recent proliferation of easily misunderstood and often contradictory statistics about breast cancer and its causes, however, is scaring many women who have only a small risk of contracting the disease.
Assess Your True Risk of Breast Cancer is designed to help women evaluate what their risk really is and then determine what the next step should be based on that risk. Written by a leading expert in the field, the book discusses everything from studies on how age and family history relate to breast cancer risk, to those on hormone replacement therapy and breast cancer, enabling a woman to understand and focus on her own personal situation.
Whether providing advice on how to get more extensive testing, counseling, and preventative measures when necessary, or offering the welcome assurance that the risk is small enough to warrant just annual checkups, mammograms, and regular self-examinations, Assess Your True Risk of Breast Cancer replaces rumors and scare tactics with solid, practical, and vital information.
About the Author
Patricia Kelly, Ph.D., is a medical geneticist who specializes in cancer risk assessment and counseling. A diplomate of the American Board of Medical Genetics and a founding fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics, Kelly lives in Berkeley, California.