Talking to My Tatas

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part I: Breast Biology, Breast Cancer, and What to Expect When Diagnosed with Breast Cancer

Chapter One: Can I talk to you about my personal relationship with my breasts?

Chapter Two: Cancer 101: What (breast) cancer is and how it makes your body betray you

Chapter Three: Diagnostics: Imaging, poking, and prodding to find breast cancer

Chapter Four: Tumor gene expression profiling and surgical options – excise and examine

Chapter Five: Radiation, chemotherapy, and molecularly targeted therapies – weapons of cancer destruction

Chapter Six: Cancer doesn’t discriminate, but we do: Disparities and cancer

Part II: My Breast Cancer Story

Chapter Seven: Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition, or a cancer diagnosis

Chapter Eight: New boobs, new you? The toll breast cancer takes on your mental health and how to deal with it

Chapter Nine: I laugh in the face of cancer—a few funny stories

Part III: Science Savvy: Why You Should Listen to Your Doctor and Not Dave “Avocado Wolf,” Gwyneth Paltrow, or Darla Shine

Chapter Ten: Avoid the woo! How to spot scams and distinguish pseudoscience from what’s legit when it comes to breast cancer

Chapter Eleven: How to look past the sensational headlines and get the real scoop from science reporting

Chapter Twelve: The post-cancer feminist manifesto: Academic researcher edition

Chapter Thirteen: “Boring Science” and Why Chasing New and Shiny Isn’t Always the Best Goal

Part IV: Survivorship and Finding a New Normal

Chapter Fourteen: My condition is chronic, but my tits are iconic

Chapter Fifteen: Top ten things you can say/do when a friend/loved one is going through cancer, and what you should never say/do

Chapter Sixteen: Life goes on: Moving forward with humor and hope

Appendix

Bibliography

Notes

Index

About the Author