Publisher's Synopsis
Rib-tickling, thigh-slapping and bra-snapping humour from women beating breast cancer.
When Robin Storey first heard the words, 'you have breast cancer, ' she burst into tears.
But as a comedy fiction author, she couldn't help finding the humorous side as she underwent treatment, collecting frank and funny stories along the way from other breast cancer survivors.
If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with breast cancer and want to feel positive and uplifted, you'll love this honest, amusing and inspiring book.
Scroll up and click the Buy Button now to start reading these stories of humour and joy from breast cancer survivors.
Available also as an e-book in the Kindle store.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Many people would say there's nothing very humorous about having breast cancer.
Those were the exact words my father, who's a retired general practitioner, said to me. But I disagree - I think you can find humour in most situations.
As I point out in the introduction of the book, I'm certainly not minimising the trauma that many women experience, and I certainly had my dark days. I'm also very aware of my good fortune in being diagnosed with early stage breast cancer and being able to keep my breast. But it is a well-documented fact that laughter helps your recovery, physically, mentally and emotionally, so the aim of this book is to provide a few laughs for those who need it.
Tell us briefly about your journey.
You know, I hate that expression 'journey, ' because it is so cliched. But it's so apt, because by the end of your treatment you really do feel as if you've been on one.
I was diagnosed by way of a routine mammogram. I had a lumpectomy and a sentinel node biopsy, in which they just remove one lymph node for testing. Fortunately the cancer hadn't travelled to the lymph nodes, although I had another two procedures before my breast was clear of cancer cells.
Also fortunately, I didn't need chemotherapy, just daily radiotherapy for four weeks. Then my treatment was finished. I'm now on daily medication to reduce the risk of the cancer recurring (five years in total) and having regular check-ups.
You also recount the experiences of other women who've had breast cancer. Why did you do that?
I decided that if the book was just about me it could become monotonous and one-dimensional. After all, everyone's experiences of and reactions to breast cancer are very different and I thought providing other points of view would be beneficial to readers, particularly those who have breast cancer. The women I featured were a mix of those I had met in person and those I'd encountered online.
What particular experiences did you find amusing?
Worrying about getting a parking ticket while I was having my biopsy and having to sue the local council for taking advantage of hospital patients, lying on the stretcher with three needles sticking out of my arm because the anaesthetist couldn't find a vein for the canula, the appearance of my breast after three surgical procedures - 'still blue from the dye injection, a bit puckered and asymmetrical, with a semi-circular scar at the base as if it's smiling. Like something Picasso would paint.'
Then there's the radiotherapy. 'It's a weird sensation lying alone in a large room with this space-age like machine looming beside me. A red light near the doorway signals that the radiation beam is on and I half expect a voice to announce, "Mission control, ready for take-off!" and to be ejected into the bright blue sky on the ceiling mural.'
And many more!
Is your book aimed only at those who've had breast cancer?
Those were the readers I had in mind when I wrote it. But there are people who've read it who haven't had breast cancer and they found it very illuminating and really enjoyed it.
