In After Breast Cancer – Answers to the Questions You’re Afraid to Ask, breast cancer survivor Musa Mayer combines “both the medicine and science of breast cancer, and my own and others’ stories that possess the power to heal, explain and counsel.” Mayer interviewed 40 survivors for this book, and presents their experiences and insights through direct quotes (helpfully offset in italic paragraphs). Hearing the voices of Nancy, Debbie, Maria, Kate, and so many others is hearing our own experience: in each of these survivors’ stories, we find bits and pieces of our own. And we take comfort in knowing that we’re not alone.

In addition, Mayer includes a lot of good hard medical information. In chapters like “Everything You Want to Know About Recurrence” and “Follow-up Visits and Worrisome Symptoms,” she uses statistics, studies, and cold, hard facts to address our ongoing obsession with “did they get it all?” She also addresses the emotional issues so many of us face, post-cancer: finding your “new normal,” dealing with fear, losing friends to cancer, “aches, pains, and tears in the night”–sound familiar? It should. Mayer and her 40 “muses” have been through it all, just like you. And thankfully, they’re alive to share their stories.

After Breast Cancer – A Common-Sense Guide to Life After Treatment, Hester Hill Schnipper, 304-page softcover, Bantam Books, 2003

After Breast Cancer – Answers to the Questions You’re Afraid to Ask, Musa Mayer, 197-page softcover, O’Reilly & Associates, 2003