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Books & DVD's
"Pretty is What Changes" Author Jessica Queller
 In Pretty Is What Changes, Jessica Queller journeys to the place where the cutting edge of biotechnology meets real life and real patients. Eleven months after her mother succumbed to cancer, Queller had herself tested for the BRCA “breast cancer” gene mutation. The results came back positive, putting her at a terrifyingly elevated risk of developing breast cancer before the age of forty and ovarian cancer in her lifetime.
Thirty-five, unattached, and yearning for marriage and a family of her own, she faced an agonising choice: a lifetime of vigilant screenings and a commitment to fight the disease when caught, or its radical alternative–a prophylactic double mastectomy that would effectively restore life to her, even as it would challenge her most closely held beliefs about body image, identity, and sexuality. Superbly informed, courageous, and armed with surprising wit and style, Queller takes us on an odyssey from the frontiers of science to the private interiors of a woman’s life. Without flinching, she answers a question we may one day face for ourselves: if genes can map our fate and their dark knowledge is offered to us, will we willingly trade innocence for the information that could save our lives?
Verdict: Excellent book for any high risk women. She is open and honest about her family history, her feelings and anxiety’s about having preventive surgery. I read this while making the decision to have my preventive mastectomy.
Book Review - "Pieces of Me" Author Veronica Neave
 A vibrant performer, film director and mum, life for Veronica Neave was always a little crazy and unpredictable. When she tested positive for the BRCA2 ‘breast cancer gene’ the turmoil in her life reached a new high. The genetic test, combined with her family’s history, increased the probability of Veronica one day battling breast cancer to more than 85%. Veronica had watched her mother’s ongoing struggle and knew well the history of other relatives dying young at the hands of this persistent disease.
When Veronica’s two sisters also tested positive for the gene, it seemed the deadly pattern was destined to continue. Veronica’s options – on paper – seemed simple: prevention through high maintenance testing, medication, or the more intrusive step of removing her healthy breasts, and possibly her ovaries too, in the hope of prevention.
With her breasts now centre stage, the decision was extremely personal and introspective and yet also seemed to be everybody’s business.
Verdict: Is a great book focusing on her families devastating cancer history. Witty and well written. From the heart!
Book Review: I'm Still standing.
 When Wendy Watson was just 16, her mother died from breast cancer. After researching her family history she discovered a further nine relatives had fallen victim to the disease. Although little was known about the genetic link to breast cancer at the time, Wendy was concerned about her own risk of developing the disease. 'The idea came into my head that if I had my breasts removed, I wouldn't develop breast cancer. I'd never heard of anyone having an elective double mastectomy before, but I felt it could be the solution for me.
At the age of 37, Wendy was the first woman in Britain to have a pre-emptive double mastectomy to avoid the breast cancer that had stalked her family. Now, thirteen years later, at 24, her daughter Becky has made the same choice. In 1996, Wendy set up the Hereditary Breast Cancer Helpline to offer support to women 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The following year she successfully spearheaded a campaign against the patenting of two genes linked to breast cancer, all the time challenging the bureaucracy of many Primary Care Trusts in the UK and the European Parliament.
Written by Wendy, this is the inspiring and courageous story of her family's personal struggle with the disease and her efforts to help thousands of other women understand and cope with this aggressive cancer.
Book Review: Why I wore Lipstick to my mastectomy.
 Lucas was 27, happily working as a 20/20 producer, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Suddenly, her world became a blur of appointments with surgeons and emotional breakdowns. Her book's catchy title belies its substantial content: this is an honest, perceptive memoir from a feisty survivor who's willing to discuss every detail, like getting sick in cabs during chemo treatments, baldness and sex. In fact, the book opens with Lucas, who's now 36, recounting her visit to a New York topless bar as she agonizes over losing a breast and contemplates reconstructive surgery. Lucas doesn't dismiss her fears; she talks about wanting to have a child and how her husband withdraws when so many other people step in to provide her with emotional support. What makes her memoir so moving is the author's breezy style and her focus on the daily details of her illness ("I am in the shower, and when I start lathering my comb-over, most of it stays in my hands. The big patches of hair just come out. No warning"). The story of Lucas's recovery, and of the birth of her daughter, make her book surprisingly optimistic and immensely empowering.
Purchase book through AMAZON here.
Book Review: I am not my breast cancer
 Peltason, an editor and breast cancer survivor, founded and hosted the First Person Plural Web site project, an online forum for women facing the disease. Their dialogue provides the content for this book, culled from the entries of 800 women across the U.S. and around the world. Peltason organizes the material into three general parts: Diagnosis, Living with Breast Cancer and The Big Picture, with such subtopics as Sharing the News, Being Womanly and Anniversaries and Milestones. Participants use screen names for privacy, approaching their disease with candor and freely discussing their feelings about their bodies and their relationships. At times, those overcome by anger and fear far outweigh those with a bright outlook, but when these survivors look in the mirror at the conclusion of the text, many envision a hopeful future. Perhaps the most poignant entries are from younger women, some of whom have been driven into early menopause and infertility by chemotherapy. Although this is an informative book, some survivors may discover that these raw entries churn up disturbing emotions; others will find comfort in these voices, and in the knowledge that they aren't alone—either in their sorrow or in their strength and courage.
PURCHASE FROM AMAZON HERE
Stealing Second Base:
 Lillie Shockney shares her unique, empowering, and often humorous story about her journey from medical professional, wife, and mother to becoming a breast cancer patient, patient advocate, and nationally recognized breast cancer expert, lending her emotional support and medical advice to help lead breast cancer patients and families through their own journey with this life altering disease. This must-have book combines the author's motivational and medical expertise to provide practical, important information.
Purchase from Amazon
Book Review - "Telling it like it is" 23 Breast Cancer Journeys
 Every year, thousands of Australians discover they have breast cancer. It could affect you, someone in your family, your friend, your workmate. Whatever links you to breast cancer, Telling It Like It Is: 23 Breast Cancer Journeys reminds you that you are not alone.
Fully supported and endorsed by the National Breast Cancer Foundation, this is a collection of first-hand accounts and experiences from people whose lives have been touched by breast cancer.
This life-affirming book is the vision of acclaimed Queensland sports journalist AnneMarie White OAM. She conveys her own experiences via emails sent to her inner circle over the course of her treatment for breast cancer. To capture the stories of the other 21 women and one man in the book, White conducted months of interviews. The result is nothing less than extraordinary.
Verdict: At times inspiring, hopeful and wistful; sometimes confronting and angry and sad, these are the voices of spirited contemporary Australians. Contributors include Susan Duncan, Ros Kelly, Kerryn McCann and Professor Fiona Stanley AC.
Click here to purchase this book
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