The day I was diagnosed with breast cancer is the day I bought Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book -- actually my sister ran to the store and bought it for me -- after it was recommended as the bible for women with breast cancer. I was told that in the absence of answers to my questions from my doctor, I should look to Dr. Love for responses that would probably mirror what my own doctor would say. So if a question or worry entered my head, I didn't have to call and leave a message for my doctor. I didn't have to wait for a return call or for my next appointment. I could open the pages of this almost 600-page book and find up-to-date and accurate information. The information I found eased my mind and gave me hope -- and it also scared me and introduced to me to the sometimes-tragic effects of breast cancer.

I learned from Dr. Love that statistically, my survival rate was pretty high. But I also learned that my cancer was most likely aggressive due to my age. The younger the woman, the more aggressive the tumor -- and I was 34 at the time. I learned that medical advances have come a long way and that this fourth edition book captured the wonders of medicine in a way that Dr. Love's first edition could not. But I learned also that treatment for breast cancer still is dominated by the slash, burn, and poison approach -- surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy are still standards of care. And they can be barbaric. Dr. Love taught me that I would receive permanent tattoos on my breasts and chest area to prepare me for radiation; that the chemotherapy drug Adriamycin is toxic if it touches the skin and can cause heart toxicity too; that my fertility would be in question after the conclusion of treatment; that my hair would fall out, my stomach would be sick, and my immune system would be attacked. Dr. Love introduced me to her thoughts on alternative treatment and diet and environmental factors influencing breast cancer. She taught me the lingo and the buzzwords and helped me understand the then-mysterious world of this disease I really knew nothing about.

Now I know a bit more about breast cancer -- because of Dr. Love and her insightful book and because I've now been slashed, burned, and poisoned and have experienced the intricacies and complexities of breast cancer for myself. Dr. Love prepared me for this ride of my life and because of her foundation and direction, I believe my ride was a little less bumpy. And if I have a repeat trip in the future, I will be in a much better place.