Be a Survivor: Your Guide to Breast Cancer Treatment

Working in the library field, my co workers are predominately women, and I have a number of good friends who are cancer survivors. In every case, these well-read intelligent women immediately learned nearly as much as their physicians knew about their disease because their lives depended on it. Making informed decisions and participating in the care of breast cancer (or any cancer for that matter) is essential to successful treatment. This comprehensive overview of breast cancer, and treatment options for the newly-diagnosed woman offers detailed information about diagnosis, surgery options (including lumpectomy vs. mastectomy), reconstruction surgery, radiation and chemotherapy (and side effects), and hormonal therapy. The program also looks at participating in clinical trials, using complementary and alternative treatments, and discusses both the physical and mental recovery processes. Clear computer graphics and simple concise language make this video extremely user friendly, while many candid interviews with cancer survivors add a sense of hope. Though I ordinarily hesitate to recommend expensive medical tapes because the information tends to become outdated rather quickly, this tape is highly recommended with this caveat: buy the tape; if medical science has a breakthrough, toss the tape and keep the cure. Editor's Choice. [Note: Be a Survivor is also available in CD-ROM and as a book; the package price for all three is $595.] Aud: C, P. (N. Plympton)