Fighting for Our Future : How Young Women Find Strength, Hope, and Courage While Taking Control of Breast Cancer

I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 33. The day after my diagnosis my husband and I went to the bookstore to find books on the topic. This book jumped out at me and, out of a variety of books and other research, this one provided the most useful, best written information on breast cancer and breast cancer considerations, particularly for a young woman. The survivor stories/vignettes let me know I was not alone and gave me hope that I could survive.

Not only is this book the most comprehensive, unbiased book on breast cancer in young women I have ever read, I applaud Beth Murphy for taking the time to focus on YOUNG WOMEN with breast cancer, a sorely under-served group. This book takes the reader inside the lives of young survivors. While touching, it is never over-the-top dramatic, and it certainly isn't sappy. Murphy defines the risks of diagnosis in young women in realistic terms - the good with the bad - and does the same for treatment issues with regards to young women. Furthermore, the author doesn't beat around the bush getting to the point that while we've made great advances in breast cancer treatment, research for young women is terribly lacking. She goes on to explain the implications a woman under 40 faces when diagnosed.Astoundingly, Murphy even manages to discuss the controversial political issues of breast cancer without ever stepping up on a soapbox. She sticks to the facts about who says what, and what questions still go unanswered.This book is a must have for any woman who wishes to get a real understanding of her health risks where breast cancer is concerned. Every doctor (particularly those still preaching "you're too young to have breast cancer"!!), nurse, mammography technician, breast health specialist, and breast cancer researcher should read this book and take its message to their jobs.Every woman under 40 diagnosed with breast cancer, every mother, sister, father, brother, friend, and boyfriend of a young survivor should buy this book immediately. There is nothing else on the market that even comes close.

This book,yes is very touching and quite moving but I think it is the educational aspect of the subject of breast cancer that I found to be the most beneficial from having read the book. The author takes you in a different direction on breast cancer, one that we haven't really seen in most other books on the subject. We are taken on a journey through the lives of these very brave women who were diagnosed with the disease at such a YOUNG age-as we usually see it in older women. I have,like most young women, thought breast cancer is not a real concern for me at my age. I have,until now, relied on my doctor to let me know what health issues he should pursue as given my current medical history ... I am glad I read this book-I am certainly more informed as will my doctor also be during my next visit.