books
BOOK
OF THE
MONTH
YOUR GUIDE THROUGH HER
BREAST CANCER JOURNEY
Katherine Formosa Bown (Urban Traffic Publishing)
Your Guide Through Her Breast Cancer Journey raises the
questions you don’t think to ask about cancer, and answers
the ones you do. Bown recounts her own battle with the illness
and her subsequent recovery, but this is not a pity-fest nor
a “look at me I’m a survivor” memoir. Bown’s narration is
down-to-earth – as if she were engaging you in conversation.
Her aim is to take the pressure off those dealing with a sick
relative or friend. Bown’s information on chemotherapy and
radiotherapy, and the progression of the illness is explained
clearly and concisely and her own experiences offer inside into
what a sufferer may be going through. The ‘how to treat her’
sections, though, seemed more appropriate for a husband or
boyfriend.
It’s either irony or synchronicity that I was sent this book
to review the same week as my mother starts her cancer
treatment. Bown is right – while you’re reeling from the shock
of the diagnosis, there is no time to think of practicalities – so she does that for you, with tips
from preparing to go to the hospital to healthy eating. This is a book you can dip in and out of for
support and hope. There is no hint of defeat here. Bown is optimistic that sufferers ?[??X]?[??\???$??X?]\?H ?HY ?????P?H?Q?UU?B??P??RSH ??QS?QB??]?[??Y\?]?X?
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