For a book that is supposed to be the best book to use on breast cancer, Dr Susan Love’s Breast Book falls short in many important areas. Of course, it is not a complete waste of print. However, you need to at least be aware of its shortcomings.

The first problem of the book is easy to spot. There is way too much time spent on basic breast anatomy and development, and not enough on the information that is immediately helpful to someone who has been newly diagnosed with breast cancer. The fact is, no one wants to wade through a bunch of non-essential material in order to find the answers to their most pressing questions. Especially when time is of the essence, which in this case, it usually is.

The next difficulty lies in the fact that the book was published only as recently as 2005. This has to take its toll on the accuracy of the survival and mortality statistics quoted within its pages. In the cases of chemotherapy, antibodies, and hormonal therapies, advances are often realized much more quickly than a five-year span. Consequently, the statistics on ten-year survival rates are especially suspect.

Even worse than that, Dr. Love only dedicates one paragraph to the very sensitive topic of interpreting the data so that readers may relate it to their own situations! This leads to feeling of fear and resgination at a time then they need to be more prepared than ever before in their lives.

Another flaw with the book is that there is much too much detail about rare complications of surgery and recurrence. At a time when most readers are looking for cold hard facts about their options in order to make treatment decisions, Dr Love belabors the number of lives lost as well as medical inadequacy. Once again, superfluous discussion is found where answers are most desperatley needed.

In the rare case that she has helpful information about the dangers of radiation, chemo, and/or surgery, Dr. Love insists on recommending it. Even though she admits that the standard chemotherapy protocol is only effective in 2-9% of non-metastatic women and that the side effects can cause permanent damage and even death!

I think I would be wary of any healthcare provider who offers that kind of advice. Let’s not forget that she is a doctor, after all, and may have a detached manner of assessing treatment plans.

It is not that you can’t get some good information from the book. Dr Susan Love’s Breast Book contains a respectable amount of material on breast cancer. However, I would not put all of my time into reading it, especially if I wanted to be able to take any kind of action right away in order to save my own life.

Looking for practical information about preventing breast cancer in yourself and the women you love? Visit the preventing breast cancer page on Holistic-Medicine-MD. Better yet, check out the book Breast Cancer: Reduce Your Risk With Foods You Love by Dr. Robert Pendergrast.

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