Recommended Reading

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RECOMMENDED READING – BOOKS THAT HELPED ME THROUGH BREAST CANCER

I have always turned to books when I needed help with a particular problem and for those of you seeking breast cancer information and want some recommendations, I hope the following list will assist. Some are not about breast cancer specifically but I found them to be absolutely invaluable in the healing process.

If the book title is a clickable link, I have located the book for you and you can buy it from this website by clicking on the link (and thank you – your purchases help fund this blog for the benefit of others)!

Anatomy of an Illness by Norman Cousins

The author healed himself from a supposedly incurable disease by various methods of mind-body techniques, very inspiring! He also discusses the importance of laughter when dealing with serious diseases.

Another Chance At Life – A Breast Cancer Survivor’s Journey by Leonore H Dvorkin

Leonore is a client of mine, and a friend, and her book has a unique appeal, is well written and an honest portrayal of her journey through breast cancer, having a mastectomy and making a choice to have no reconstructive surgery.  Highly recommended.

Beating Cancer With Nutrition by Dr Patrick Quillin

Dr Quillin provides us with great nutritional information, explains the link between nutrition and cancer, plus there’s a great discussion about the importance of the pH influence (acid/alkaline) of foods and some daily diet plans.

The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton, Ph.D.

This book was a major eye-opener for me. If you believe that you have a genetic predisposition to breast cancer, this gives you HOPE and shows that our bodies can be changed as we retrain our thinking. The author was trained as a cell biologist, so be prepared for lots of research… but it’s still very readable and fantastic information.

Reading this book literally changed my life and changed the way I think about things, particularly genetic expression.

Breast Cancer – Beyond Convention – The World’s Foremost Authorities on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Offer Advice on Healing Edited by M Tagliaferri, MD; I Cohen, OMD; and D Tripathy, MD.

Fabulous up-to-date information on various complementary & alternative healing methods by the world’s foremost authorities. I found it to be very helpful, it provided lots of in-depth information.

Breast Cancer – Reduce Your Risk With Foods You Love by Robert Pendergrast, M.D.

A nicely written book by a former pediatrician who decided that we needed more up-to-date information about nutrition, as well as quite a few other risk reduction factors such as environmental toxins.  The author also shares the importance of mind-body medicine, exercise – it’s a nice holistic approach.

Breast Cancer – What You Should Know (But May Not Be Told) About Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment by Steve Austin, ND and Cathy Hitchcock, MSW

This was my mother’s, so a little older, but it was the first one I turned to the day I got my diagnosis. It’s full of information on surgical procedures, drugs, questions to ask and includes both the doctor’s and the patient’s points of view. Very helpful.

A Consumer’s Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients by Ruth Winter, MS

This contains lots of great information about the harmful (and desirable) ingredients found in our body products and cosmetics. You’ll be horrified at what gets put into our products!

The Creative Power of Imagery by Dr Ian Gawler, Hill of Content Publishing, ISBN 0-85572-281-9 (1997) (Australian publication)

Dr Gawler teaches us how to use the power of our minds for many different reasons. I used it to help me formulate healing meditations while I was going through treatment. This is great, it helped a lot.

Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain

Shakti Gawain teaches you how to use your mind to relax, to effectively visualize what you want to create in your life. I found this very powerful information, especially since I strongly felt that poorly handled stress was instrumental in the development of my tumor.

The Cure For All Cancers by Dr Hulda R Clark

I first read this years ago, when my mother was battling breast cancer. It is full of good information on the link between parasites and cancer, problems with amalgam fillings in teeth and environmental toxins.

Dr Susan Love’s Breast Book by Susan M Love, MD

This is a fabulous resource for anyone wanting to know about breast cancer and risk reduction.  At 736 pages, it was originally published in 1990 and has just been updated and is a don’t miss.

Heal Cancer: Choose Your Own Survival Path Dr Ruth Cilento

This remarkable book was written by a doctor who had some very revolutionary ideas about cancer. She was definitely ahead of her time. It’s a fantastic read and helped me a lot. It’s another of the ones I read when my mother was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.

How to Fight Cancer and Win by William L Fischer

This is a little older – my father introduced this one to me. The information in it is still good, particularly on nutrition and the importance of using imagery and positive thinking.

Instant Calm by Paul Wilson

If you believe that a long period of stress preceded your cancer diagnosis, this is for you. Lots of coping strategies and techniques to help you through stressful periods. Just reading it is calming!

The Journey by Brandon Bays

I found this very inspiring. Brandon Bays has pioneered a process of self-healing that transforms lifelong emotional and physical blocks and this is about how it was developed. I haven’t been to one of her workshops but it was nice to know this method is available to us.

Kicking Cancer in The Kitchen by Annette Ramke and Kendall Scott

A terrific cookbook I have recently reviewed, written by two cancer survivors.  They have written a really thoughtful book with lots of great recipes and tips on getting through cancer in a very inspiring and healthy way.  I wish this had been available when I was going through cancer!

One Bite At A Time by Rebecca Katz

Recommended by others , this wasn’t available when I was going through breast cancer, but it is a very good cookbook full of yummy and nourishing recipes for cancer patients (and their friends!).

Power Juices Super Drinks by Steve Meyerowitz

Great book about juicing, the author includes terrific information about specific health problems and what nutrients will help and why.  Highly recommended.

The Power of Intention by Dr Wayne Dyer

I LOVED this one! Fantastic information. Wayne Dyer is a very inspiring writer and this is a beautiful gift. I found it especially helpful because I realized that in order to stay well after all my treatment ended, I was going to need to connect to a very powerful thing called intention. Dr Dyer tells us how.

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

I found this to be life changing. Eckhart Tolle is so good with words as he describes how to attain spiritual enlightenment (and no, it’s not heavy-going), drawing on the teachings of Christianity and Buddhism. I highly recommend this to anyone facing cancer or another life crisis.

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

This has received a lot of criticism, but I happen to love it. Rhonda Byrne has done a great job putting together this powerful information and if all it does is give us a glimpse of just how powerful we can be, what harm is there in that? I get it out and read passages frequently. It helps me get through every day life!  Available in both book form and DVD (I recommend the latter – the visuals are very good for remembering.)

Shattering the Cancer Myth by Katrina Ellis

Katrina Ellis is not only a Naturopath and Iridologist, but also a cancer survivor and has written a great guide to understanding both traditional and natural therapies for cancer treatment. She includes some very helpful natural remedies to combat the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. This was lent to me by a client immediately after my diagnosis and I was so impressed, I haunted the shops until I found my own copy.

Spontaneous Healing by Andrew Weil, MD

Dr Weil is an expert at making a difficult concept understandable. I found this really interesting and it has many suggestions on how to enhance your own ability to heal.

A Survivor’s Guide to Kicking Cancer’s Ass by Dr Dena Mendes

Great book – it teaches you how to become your own advocate and self-empowerment, which is what I believe got me through breast cancer successfully.  As Dr Mendes promises, “You’ll get to turn yourself inside out and become someone new. I guarantee that this is the best trip you’ll ever take!”

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer by John R Lee, MD

I first read Dr Lee’s guide about menopause, so I knew this was going to be full of great information. He gives lots of practical information on how to heal from and also prevent breast cancer, as well as the politics of the breast cancer industry – I believe this should be on every woman’s shelf!

Why Me, Why This, Why Now by Robin Norwood

Robin Norwood is one wise woman. This helped me so very much. I found within its pages so many answers to life’s tough questions and she put a lot of things into perspective for me. I read it twice!

You Can Conquer Cancer by Dr Ian Gawler

This one has been around for awhile in Australia but might not be well known in America. It should be. It’s a very inspirational read. Ian Gawler is a cancer survivor and this is full of information on the prevention and management of cancer.

Your Life In Your Hands by Prof Jane Plant

This woke me up to the fact that we need to avoid soy and dairy products (among other things!). Very good, up to date information, although I don’t agree with absolutely everything Prof Plant says.