Cancer
Breast Cancer | Colon Cancer
| Environmental Causes of
Cancer
Prostate Cancer | Spiritual Healing from Cancer
|
Survival Guides
|
 Breast Cancer, Breast Health : The Wise Woman Way (Wise
Woman Herbal Series) by Susun S. Weed, Alan McKnight
(Illustrator), Susan Weed, Christiane Northrup (Introduction)Designed to be a resource for both women who want to maintain breast health and those who've been diagnosed with breast cancer, Breast Cancer? Breast Health! The Wise Woman Way draws on "women's wisdom," or the inner knowledge often ignored by modern medicine, as a powerful tool for healing. Author Susun Weed proposes an anticancer lifestyle, and, if cancer does enter the picture, a six-step plan for healing (sleep is at zero, or "Do Nothing"; surgery is number six, which she terms "Break and Enter"), with various complementary healing techniques included throughout. Weed is careful to point out that supplements and herbs can hurt as much as they can help, and she lists several alternative-medicine techniques that should be avoided no matter what. The steps she does recommend--from herbal oils for breast massage to help detect lumps early to the herbs milk thistle, dandelion, and burdock for women with liver damage from tamoxifen--are explained clearly, sometimes with fascinating quotes from centuries-old books on healing. Weed will draw ire from some readers for recommending that mammograms be avoided. She says they tend to squeeze cancer cells into the bloodstream and can't detect cancer until it's metastatic, which are reasons enough to not have them, and adds that women would be better off by making her suggested anticancer lifestyle changes, paying more attention to their breasts, and performing regular self-exams. The warnings about the dangers of electromagnetic fields, exposure to estrogen, and organochlorides from plastics may frighten some, but Weed means to enlighten and empower. She dedicates the book to environmentalist and Silent Spring author Rachel Carson and poet Audre Lorde, who both died of breast cancer. Extensive herbal resources, a solid glossary, and a thorough index are included.
Both of these books are anthologies of writings on women and cancer and comprise the first two volumes of the Women/Cancer/Fear/Power series. Confronting Cancer combines personal storytelling with feminist information-sharing to create a superb all-purpose resource on women and cancer. Cancer as A Women's Issue features a piece on lesbians and cancer written by Midge Stocker, who founded the Women's Cancer Resource Center, and another on the relationship between environmental contaminants and cancer by biologist Sandra Steingraber. The diversity of the essays is outstanding, with writings by cancer survivors and their loved ones, describing their diagnosis, their search for information and their differing experiences of a variety of treatments. Most of the essays are quite short and highly intimate. The overall effect of the two books is empowering, although there is no attempt to omit the frightening truths about cancer. These books inspire us to fight for our lives, and give us the knowledge and support we need for our struggle.
 The American Cancer Society : Colorectal
Cancer by Bernard, Md. Levin AN ALLOPATHIC POINT OF FOCUS For those concerned about prevention as well as those diagnosed with colorectal cancer, a comprehensive, knowledgeable resource under the aegis of the American Cancer Society. Levin (a colon and rectal cancer specialist at the University of Chicago's medical school) is realistic and reassuring: Colorectal cancer is among the most preventable forms of the disease; some basic lifestyle changes can help many lower their chances of developing it, and with early diagnosis and treatment, those who do get it have ``an excellent chance of full recovery.'' Levin first describes the structure of the digestive system and how cancer develops when something goes awry. He then looks at dietary measures (some recipes and menus included) and other strategies for warding off the disease. Levin then describes screening, early detection techniques, and diagnosis; information on surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation treatments follows. Levin also discusses ``Alternative and Complementary Therapies,'' offering sound guidelines for evaluating these and incorporating them into a standard treatment plan. A final chapter considers the issues of living with the aftermath of successful treatment, as well as offering help for those for whom treatment has failed. Well organized and thorough, a sound, reassuring first resource for those facing the disease. (illustrations) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. Environmental Causes of Cancer  Silent Spring
by
Rachel Carson Rachel Carson's Silent Spring is now 35 years old. Written over the years 1958 to 1962, it took a hard look at the effects of insecticides and pesticides on songbird populations throughout the United States, whose declining numbers yielded the silence to which her title attests. "What happens in nature is not allowed to happen in the modern, chemical-drenched world," she writes, "where spraying destroys not only the insects but also their principal enemy, the birds. When later there is a resurgence of the insect population, as almost always happens, the birds are not there to keep their numbers in check." The publication of her impeccably reported text helped change that trend by setting off a wave of environmental legislation and galvanizing the nascent ecological movement. It is justly considered a classic, and it is well worth rereading today.  Living Downstream : A Scientist's
Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment by
Sandra Steingraber With this eloquent and impassioned book, biologist and poet Sandra Steingraber shoulders the legacy of Rachel Carson, producing a work about people and land, cancer and the environment, that is as accessible and invaluable as Silent Spring--and potentially as historic. In her early twenties, Steingraber was afflicted with cancer, a disease that has afflicted other members of her adoptive family. Writing from the twin perspectives of a survivor and a concerned scientist, she traces the high incidence of cancer and the terrifying concentrations of environmental toxins in her native rural Illinois. She goes on to show similar correlation in other communities, such as Boston and Long Island, and throughout the United States, where cancer rates have risen alarmingly since mid-century. At once a deeply moving personal document and a groundbreaking work of scientific detection, Living Downstream will be a touchstone for generations, reminding us of the intimate connection between the health of our bodies and the integrity of our air, land, and water.  Our Children's Toxic Legacy : How Science and
Law Fail to Protect Us from Pesticides by John Wargo An expert in pesticide policy traces the history of pesticide law and science, focusing on the special hazards pesticides have presented to children past and present, and suggesting urgent reforms are necessary to protect them.
 Our Stolen Future : Are We Threatening Our
Fertility, Intelligence, and Survival?-A Scientific Detective Story by Theo Colborn, Dianne Dumanoski, John Peterson Myers (Contributor) Stolen Future takes the reader from the fields and lakes where wildlife is having reproduction problems to the labratory where PHD scientists, are struggling with the mystery of synthetic chemicals disrupting hormone messages in developing, (unborn) wildlife and humans. Easy to read, this book unfolds like a mystery novel and draws some very serious conclusions about the toxic world we have created for ourselves by using billiions of tons of synthetic chemicals. We are all un-wittingly participating in a dangerous global experiment with numerous persistant, synthetic chemical toxins which, invisably, disrupt and scramble the body's chemical messages  The American Cancer Society: Prostate Cancer,
revised edition by David G., Md. Bostwick, Gregory T., Md. MacLennan, Thayne R. Larson AN ALLOPATHIC POINT OF FOCUS Revised and updated with over 20 percent new material, this book features the latest research and most up-to-date information on treatments, surgeries, drugs, and after-care for men facing this disease.
 The Chemotherapy & Radiation Therapy
Survival Guide by Judith McKay, Nancee Hirano AN ALLOPATHIC POINT OF FOCUS A reader from Los Angeles, California , February 25, 1998 Written by two nurses who understand the questions patients have before and during chemotherapy or radiation therapy, this book is very easy to read but doesn't skimp on technical details when necessary. The chapters cover basics about the treatment, how to deal with side-effects, getting good nutrition, support, and bone-marrow transplants. I work at a Cancer Center and our patients really like this book because it de-mystifies the process and helps guide them through from beginning to end. There is comfort in knowing what is coming and they feel reassured to know that there are ways to deal with just about everything that may come their way. Since our patients are usually very interested in mind/body techniques during chemotherapy, I especially like the chapters on Mind/Body techniques, relaxation and visualization. The authors seem to know just what patients are looking for and what they need. |
