B is for Breast Cancer

'The day after I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I was standing in the chemist with a basket in my hand, blinking back tears and thinking, "Now what does a breast cancer patient need?" All I could come up with was waterproof mascara. I put some in my basket and thought someone should write an alternative guide to breast cancer. Step one - buy waterproof mascara. You're going to need it. A few short months later, I found I was writing the guide myself. I sat in bed in between hospital appointments with my laptop, furiously, desperately trying to make sense of this alien world I had entered.'

Written entirely while Christine Hamill was undergoing cancer treatment, this book is an honest and frank account of the emotional and physical impact of a cancer diagnosis. It as at turns funny, sad, angry and ultimately optimistic. Written without sentimentality, B IS FOR BREAST CANCER offers bite-size chunks of help and hope - a daily pep talk to anyone affected by the disease. It's packed full of the practical information that you really need.

Read this book. It helps to know you are not alone.

“What a refreshingly honest read! In this very personal and vivid account of her cancer journey, I could identify with many aspects of my own experience. As well as humour, and some really useful observations on how to deal with things, there is anger, guilt and bags of fear and uncertainty. How I identified with the "howl-crying"! Christine reassures us that all this is normal and it is all right to talk about it, shout about it and cry about it. Above all she encourages us to get informed, seek support, ask the questions and not to accept platitudes. By writing in such a direct and honest fashion, Christine has paved the way for all those who are experiencing the trauma of diagnosis, treatment and beyond, to tell it how it really is and to come out the other side”

As a surgeon and Chairman of Cancer Focus Northern Ireland, I see women every day who are living with the impact of breast cancer. B is for Breast Cancer is a refreshing look at breast cancer from the woman's perspective. It is insightful, warm, moving and, in places, very funny. Other women will find this helpful and those of us who work in cancer services, or aspire to do so, should take a little time, put away the text book and try to walk in the shoes of the most important person of all - those living with the disease. It will help us all do what we do just a little better - Professor Roy Spence, Cancer Focus Northern Ireland

We know at Maggie's that when you are first diagnosed with cancer it can be a confusing and overwhelming time. There is so much information to take in, on everything from differing types of treatment and benefits to what's best to eat. That's why B is for Breast Cancer is such an important book. It breaks down all the questions you may have into clear and concise answers that are easy to read and not in the least bit intimidating. We will certainly make sure there are copies of the book in all our centres - Laura Lee, Chief Executive, Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres

This is an alternative and informative guide to negotiating some of the challenges of being faced with breast cancer: an honest, humorous and ultimately hopeful insight into diagnosis, treatment and recovery - Dr Ruth Barr, Belfast

Patients living with and beyond cancer should find this book both useful and inspirational in that it addresses the many aspects of cancer which are not normally discussed in public or indeed in clinical practice. Christine has made sense of her feelings and reactions to her diagnosis and, with some degree of humour, written a very personal account. The book will also serve as a resource for staff working in clinical practice. I will be recommending it to my students in the hope that it will enhance their understanding of the cancer patient experience - Marie Glackin, Lecturer (Education - Cancer Nursing), School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen's University, Belfast

Christine Hamill studied English literature at university in the 1980s before working in the arts as a gallery manager and then as an administrator on an arts magazine. She soon left to become a teacher, teaching in Spain and England but now lectures full time at an FE college in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Christine was diagnosed with cancer and started to write her first book in January of the year she was having radiotherapy.

The day after I was diagnosed with breast cancer I found myself blinking back tears while shopping, thinking: Now, what does a breast cancer patient need? All I could come up with was waterproof mascara. I put some in my basket and thought that someone should write an alternative guide: Step One - Buy waterproof mascara. You're going to need it. A few months later I was writing the guide myself, desperately, furiously trying to make sense of this alien world I had entered. Written while Christine Hamill was undergoing cancer treatment, this book is an honest and frank account of the emotional and physical impact of a cancer diagnosis. It is at turns funny, sad, angry and ultimately optimistic. B is for Breast Cancer offers bite-size chunks of help and hope - a daily pep talk to anyone affected by the disease. Read this book. It helps to know you are not alone.

'The day after I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I was standing in the chemist with a basket in my hand, blinking back tears and thinking, "Now what does a breast cancer patient need?" All I could come up with was waterproof mascara. I put some in my basket and thought someone should write an alternative guide to breast cancer. Step one - buy waterproof mascara. You're going to need it. A few short months later, I found I was writing the guide myself. I sat in bed in between hospital appointments with my laptop, furiously, desperately trying to make sense of this alien world I had entered.'Written entirely while Christine Hamill was undergoing cancer treatment, this book is an honest and frank account of the emotional and physical impact of a cancer diagnosis. It as at turns funny, sad, angry and ultimately optimistic. Written without sentimentality, B IS FOR BREAST CANCER offers bite-size chunks of help and hope - a daily pep talk to anyone affected by the disease. It's packed full of the practical information that you really need.Read this book. It helps to know you are not alone.

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