Breast Cancer: Taking Control by John Boyages (Author)

Second Edition — fully revised and updated

About

Breast Cancer: Taking Control — Second Edition is a practical, plain-English guide for people diagnosed with breast cancer and for those supporting them. Using the familiar image of a garden, clear diagrams, real patient stories and step-by-step chapters, Professor John Boyages AM, MD, PhD, guides you through the stress, confusion and important decisions that follow a breast cancer diagnosis.

Some key features:

• Fully revised and updated second edition
• “Traffic-light” colours to guide you through different stages of diagnosis, treatment and recovery
• Clear chapters that guide you through the breast cancer treatment pathway
• Real-life patient stories
• Plain-English explanations using garden and other everyday analogies
• Updated information on surgery, radiation therapy, drug treatment, reconstruction, genetics, lymphoedema, side effects and recovery
• Photographs, diagrams and tables to help explain key concepts
• Carefully selected web links and resources
• Detailed glossary, key references and index

Learn how to:

1. Understand the key steps from diagnosis through treatment, recovery and follow-up care
2. Navigate the medical maze of breast cancer care with clear explanations, diagrams and flow charts
3. Understand your diagnosis, pathology report and treatment options
4. Find and work with the right treatment team for you
5. Ask the right questions before surgery, radiation therapy, drug treatment and follow-up care
6. Understand surgical choices for the breast and armpit
7. Understand when radiation therapy, chemotherapy, anti-HER2 therapy, immunotherapy or hormonal therapy may be recommended
8. Consider breast reconstruction and the timing of treatment
9. Recognise and manage common side effects, including fatigue, menopause symptoms, lymphoedema risk and changes in sexuality
10. Prepare for recovery, survivorship and life after treatment

Note from the author

“My aim is to help you understand your breast cancer, make informed decisions with your treatment team, and feel more confident as you move through treatment and recovery. Let me guide you along the right path so you can take control of this all too common disease.”Professor John Boyages AM, MD, PhD

Reviews

“As a patient of John Boyages, I was so grateful for his professionalism and for the compassion and clarity with which he explained the options available to me during my breast cancer treatment. All these qualities are evident in this wonderfully practical book. John has the unique ability to convey complex medical information in a manner that makes it both digestible and easy to apply for the layperson.”

—Liane Moriarty

World-renowned

Best-selling author

“The biopsy results are back, and I’m afraid you have breast cancer.” Countless women have heard these words and felt the bottom drop out of their lives. For many, they sound like a death sentence and mark the beginning of a difficult treatment journey to recovery.

Breast cancer affects not only patients but also their families. It is common, often occurs in younger women, and may require treatments that affect femininity, sexuality and body image. Yet there is good news. Although its incidence has increased, mortality has fallen dramatically over the past 30 years because of screening, early detection and improved treatments.

Medical advances have also led to less-disfiguring surgery and less-toxic radiation and systemic therapies. However, patients and their families must still navigate a complicated maze of treatment options while trying to achieve the best outcome with the fewest side effects.

This is where Breast Cancer: Taking Control comes in. Dr John Boyages draws upon decades of training and clinical practice devoted to breast cancer. Although many books are available for patients, few combine practical information with such a personal, sympathetic approach.

I have had the privilege of watching Dr Boyages’s career develop and am not surprised by the quality of this resource. He has always approached patients by asking, “What if this were a member of my own family?” That spirit shines throughout the book.

Perhaps the greatest compliment one doctor can give another is: “He is the one I would want to care for me.” I would gladly have John care for any member of my family, and if they had breast cancer, I would certainly recommend this book—as I recommend it to you.

—Daniel F. Hayes, MD

Stuart A. Padnos Professor of Breast Cancer Research

University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor

“Dr. John Boyages is an innovator amongst his peers; he is unafraid to address the unique and sensitive issues that many breast cancer survivors are facing on a day to day basis. Concerns about quality of life, fertility preservation, sexual health and wellness, and menopause are often neglected in the comprehensive care of the cancer patient. Yet Dr. Boyages addresses these concerns with compassion and medical accuracy. The book provides clear, understandable solutions that put the reader at ease. It is an excellent resource for patients and caregivers and a first-rate addition to the oncology, sexual medicine, and cancer survivorship fields.”

——Michael L. Krychman, MD

Medical Director of Sexual Medicine Hoag Hospital,

Executive Director of the Southern California Center for Sexual Health and Survivorship Medicine,

Associate Clinical Professor University of Southern California

“John Boyages is one of those few oncologists who understands all aspects of breast cancer. He is a doctor’s doctor who treats many doctors and their families. This is a must-read, not only for women with breast cancer but also for oncology trainees, nurses, and general practitioners.”

——Richard Kefford, MD

Professor of Medicine, Medical Oncologist and Director of the Westmead Institute for Cancer

Research University of Sydney Department of Medicine,

Westmead Hospital

“An easy read for a layperson without a medical background—insightful and informative”.

——Michelle Hanton OAM

Founder Dragons Abreast Australia

“Nobody wants to hear the words “You have cancer.” But Professor John Boyages has helped many women not just survive but thrive after the heartbreak of a breast cancer diagnosis. John is a leader in multidisciplinary care and sees patients from all over the world. Apart from his clinical work, he is also a passionate advocate for breast cancer education, and whenever journalists need help with a breast cancer story, he responds promptly and always in plain English, without medical gobbledygook! John has won several awards for services to medicine and the media, and the tips in this book are a must-read for anyone on the breast cancer journey.”

——Jane Worthington

Health reporter

Woman’s Day, Reader’s Digest HealthSmart and The Sunday Telegraph

“Dear John, I just got my hands on a copy of your new book. WOW! I couldn’t put it down. What an absolutely brilliant book—unique, balanced, simple charts and yet quite detailed, empowering, compassionate and informative, informative, informative! WOW! Congratulations. I’m sure women of Australia and beyond thank you”.

——John Eden MD

Associate Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology University of NSW,

Director Barbara Gross Research Unit and Sydney Menopause Centre, Royal Hospital for Women and

Director Women’s Health and Research Institute of Australia