Prevent, Survive, Thrive

A general surgeon by training, Dr. John G. West became fascinated with the multidisciplinary team approach to breast cancer care in the mid 1980's. His previous experience as a pioneer in the development of regional trauma systems set the stage for his interest in developing a team approach to breast care. Dr. West opened Orange County's first breast care center in 1988, and over the past 20 yrs has been on the cutting edge of developing a team approach to the care of patients with breast problems. He was cofounder and chairman of the board of the Be Aware Foundation, which is a community outreach program dedicated to the early detection of breast cancer. Dr. West has been named a Best Doctor in America and has been recognized as one of the "Best Doctors in Orange County." He has been the lead author in 20 peer review articles and has written two previous books. Maralys Wills's has published 16 books spanning several genres and publishers. Her fiction works include four romance novels published by Harlequin and Silhouette and a techno-thriller Scatterpath about airplane sabotage. Among her ten nonfictions are two books on writing: Damn the Rejections, Full Speed Ahead won its category in Best Books (Stephens Press); a treatise on addiction (Hazelden); and four memoirs (Longstreet Press, Stephens Press). Three of Wills's volumes have won national awards. For 30 years Wills has been teaching novel-writing and memoirs, and in 2000 was named Teacher of the Year. With her lawyer-husband, Rob, she raised six children, five boys and a girl.

Introduction: Why this Book Was Written 1: The Controversies that Drive this Book SECTION I: GENERAL BREAST CARE GUIDELINES BY AGE AND SEX 2: For Children, Teens, and Women Under Forty 3: For Women Over Forty 4: For Women of Childbearing Age: Birth Control, Pregnancy, and Lactation 5: For Men SECTION II: COMMON BREAST PROBLEMS 6: Breast Pain 7: Abnormal Mammograms: Calcifications and Densities 8: Breast Lumps 9: Nipple Discharge SECTION III: UNCOMMON BUT PERILOUS BREAST PROBLEMS 10: The Devil's Cancer 11: Inflammatory Breast Cancer: The Silent Killer 12: Paget's Disease of the Nipple SECTION IV: CONTROVERSIES IN BREAST CARE 13: The Breast Self-Exam Controversy 14: "My Mammogram Was Normal, and Now I'm On Chemo" 15: Shame on You, Dr. Krauthammer: Why He's Wrong About Mammograms 16: Mammograms: The Spin Stops Here 17: Your Bra: A No-Phone Zone 18: Genetic Testing SECTION V: PREVENTION 19: Beating the Genetic Odds: Exercise, Diet, and Weight Control 20: Alcohol, Vitamins, and Hormones: What Helps and What Hurts 21: "Why Me?" Think DDT: The Connection Between Environmental Toxins and Cancer SECTION VI: AFTER DIAGNOSIS 22: Just Diagnosed: With Reasons for Optimism 23: Who Needs a Second Opinion--and Why? 24: Mastectomy Versus Lumpectomy 25: Breast Reconstruction After Mastectomy 26: Breast Reconstruction After Lumpectomy SECTION VII: HOPE 27: Better Breast Care for All 28: The Importance of Hope CONCLUSION Appendix I: Breast Cancer: Risk Assessment Appendix II: Support Services Appendix III: Finding a Breast Surgeon Bibliography Glossary of Terms About the Authors