”This is indeed a remarkable book by a remarkable woman.
If you or a family member has had a diagnosis of breast cancer, then this book will be essential reading. As someone who has been through the process herself, and has experienced both the caring professionalism and the shortcomings of breast cancer treatment today, Dr Thompson speaks frankly and with great wisdom, wearing, as she says, both her ‘doctor head’ and her ‘woman head’. She takes a very balanced and practical view of current breast cancer treatment and lets sufferers and their families know what to expect.
This book approaches what could be a dismal and frightening prospect with honesty and indeed good humour. We meet the people she met along her path to recovery and we feel what she felt. To follow this account of her personal experiences is enormously helpful. It is surprising that even a well-qualified and fully experienced health professional can find herself going through the maze feeling vulnerable and bewildered, but one can only admire the way in which she gradually asserts herself tactfully but respectfully where necessary.
This book will answer so many questions: How am I meant to feel? What should I ask? What should I do if I think my treatment is inappropriate? To what am I entitled? Where can I go for help if I feel I am being ill-served by the system? What can I expect will happen? There is so much sound advice here for both the sufferer and her (or indeed his) family.
Dr Thompson includes guidance on improvements we should all make to our diet and lifestyle to best avoid the incidence and recurrence of cancer. Some myths are exploded and new theories and therapies explored. This has to be the best all-round, self-help book on this subject, though Dr Thompson helpfully suggests others too. I also enjoyed the good written style of the book, which is reassuringly positive and appropriately friendly.
As someone who has been part of the way through this minefield myself, I would not hesitate to recommend this book to any breast cancer sufferer and to their nearest and dearest. I shall be presenting a copy to my lady GP with a recommendation that she makes it available to her patients.“