Popular Reading: Books for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

A comparative study of genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer in the United States and Britain that shows the importance of national context in the development and use of science and technology even in an era of globalization. In Building Genetic Medicine, Shobita Parthasarathy shows how, even in an era of globalization, national context is playing an important role in the development and use of genetic technologies. Focusing on the development and deployment of genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer (known as BRCA testing) in the United States and Britain, Parthasarathy develops a comparative analysis framework in order to investigate how national "toolkits" shape both regulations and the architectures of technologies and uses this framework to assess the implications of new genetic technologies.

From the early 80s of the past century, clinical and epidemiological studies have increasingly pointed to an elevated breast, endometrial and ovarian cancer risk from high circulating oestrogen levels. Oestrogen deficiency as a cancer risk factor emerged first in 2007 in a study on Hungarian oral cancer cases based on the gender and age-related differences in tumour prevalence. Critical re-evaluation of the contradictory results of hormone replacement therapy yielded a complete conversion that oestrogen deficiency may confer cancer initiation. This book examines the deleterious interactions between oestrogen deficiency and further hormonal disorders which illuminate the apparently controversial associations of obesity, light exposure and alcohol intake with breast cancer risk.

Breast cancer remains the most common invasive cancer among women. The primary patients of breast cancer are adult women who are approaching or have reached menopause; 90 percent of new cases in U.S. women in 2009 were diagnosed at age 45 or older. Growing knowledge of the complexity of breast cancer stimulated a transition in breast cancer research toward elucidating how external factors may influence the etiology of breast cancer. Breast Cancer and the Environment reviews the current evidence on a selection of environmental risk factors for breast cancer, considers gene-environment interactions in breast cancer, and explores evidence-based actions that might reduce the risk of breast cancer.

A diagnosis of breast cancer is among the most frightening moments in a person's life--so frightening that even to formulate questions for the doctor may seem impossible. This helpful book is written as a guide for women and men facing breast cancer and for their caring families and friends. It is also written for women who have not been diagnosed with breast cancer but are concerned that they may be. Drawing on her many years of experience with breast cancer patients, Dr. Ruth H. Grobstein provides exactly the information they want and need in order to make the best health decisions. Her jargon-free book deals with general issues of interest to all women--mammography, hormone replacement therapy, risk factors for breast cancer, and more--as well as the numerous issues that patients diagnosed with breast cancer confront.

Practical Digital Mammography provides breast imagers with a systematic, problem-solving approach to detecting and assessing the most subtle signs of breast cancer malignancies. The book opens with concise coverage of the fundamentals, including physics, equipment, and normal anatomy. Separate chapters provide straightforward descriptions and clear illustrations of the digital mammographic characteristics of benign and malignant calcifications, masses, asymmetry, and architectural distortion. The author presents the clinical workup of the most difficult mammographic findings and provides recommendations about the optimizing the techniques for localizing each finding.

This book presents and discusses research in the study of breast cancer diagnosis and prevention. Topics discussed include strategies for the prevention of breast cancer; health benefits and breast cancer screenings; access to mammography facilities; the reduction in the risk of human breast cancer by selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors and breast cancer perceptions and knowledge among women living in a rural community.

Vividly showcasing diverse voices and experiences, this book illuminates an all-too-common experience by exploring how women respond to a diagnosis of breast cancer. Drawing from interviews in which women describe their journeys from diagnosis through treatment and recovery, Julia A. Ericksen explores topics ranging from women's trust in their doctors to their feelings about appearance and sexuality. She includes the experiences of women who do not put their faith in traditional medicine as well as those who do, and she takes a look at the long-term consequences of this disease.

Early stage breast cancer can be stressful and upsetting for both the woman dealing with the disease and her partner. This illness can also place a strain on a couple's relationship. However, couples who are able to provide effective support to one another are more likely to adapt well.Focusing on the couple as a unit can promote effective coping for both patients and their partners . This couples-focused group program aims to improve a couple's functioning as a "team" and provides a supportive environment for couples facing similar breast cancer-related issues

To date, no means to prevent breast cancer has been discovered and experience has shown that treatments are most effective when a cancer is detected early, before it has spread to other tissues. These two facts suggest that the most effective way to continue reducing the death toll from breast cancer is improved early detection and diagnosis. Building on the 2001 report Mammography and Beyond, this new book not only examines ways to improve implementation and use of new and current breast cancer detection technologies but also evaluates the need to develop tools that identify women who would benefit most from early detection screening. Saving Women (TM)s Lives: Strategies for Improving Breast Cancer Detection and Diagnosis encourages more research that integrates the development, validation, and analysis of the types of technologies in clinical practice that promote improved risk identification techniques.

Basic Consumer Health Information about Breast Health and Breast Cancer, Including Facts about Environmental, Genetic, and Other Risk Factors, Prevention Efforts, Screening and Diagnostic Methods, Surgical Treatment Options and Other Care Choices, Complementary and Alternative Therapies, and Post-Treatment Concerns Along with Statistical Data, News about Research Advances, a Glossary of Related Terms, and Directories of Resources for Additional Information and Support Omnigraphics' Health Reference Series Helping the Layperson Understand, Manage, and Avoid Serious Illness Omnigraphics' Health Reference Series is designed for the general reader seeking guidance on how to avoid serious illness by following preventive lifestyles and recognizing early warning signs. It also supports the layperson who has received a diagnosis of a serious disease or disorder as well as the family member or nonprofessional caregiver who must learn to care and to cope with the illness.

This book by a scientist whose background is in cellular and molecular biology examines the fearsome disease that strikes one in eight women in the United States. Although women are more likely to die of heart disease or of lung cancer, a diagnosis of breast cancer is the medical pronouncement that a woman is most likely to fear. It kills more than 40,000 Americans annually. Why are some women more vulnerable than others? The interplay between genetics and environment is suspected. Thus this book for general readers will help them understand the genetic bases of both sporadic and inherited breast cancers.

From the early 1980s, the U.S. environmental breast cancer movement has championed the goal of eradicating the disease by emphasizing the importance of reducing--even eliminating exposure to chemicals and toxins. From Pink to Green chronicles the movement's disease prevention philosophy from the beginning. Challenging the broader cultural milieu of pink ribbon symbolism and breast cancer "awareness" campaigns, this movement has grown from a handful of community-based organizations into a national entity, shaping the cultural, political, and public health landscape. From Pink to Green successfully explores the intersection between breast cancer activism and the environmental health sciences, incorporating public and scientific debates as well as policy implications to public health and environmental agendas.