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"I have a friend who was just diagnosed with breast cancer. Which books do you suggest to help her with her recovery? Margo responds: Cancer Is a Word, Not a Sentence: A Practical Guide to Help You Through the First Few Weeks, by Robert Buckman, could be helpful. The authors provide a steadying hand for the newly diagnosed, walking the reader through the options and offering advice on everything from dealing with medical personnel to talking about your disease with friends and family. Sometimes a cancer patient prefers to just read something inspiring, like the stories in Chicken Soup for the Breast Cancer Survivor&amp;#039;s Soul, by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, and Mary Olsen Kelly. Yes, I know, the Chicken Soup series has gotten a little frothy. But this collection of first-person essays offers great support (even for men with breast cancer) and also practical advice (a recipe for Chemo Popsicles, for example). Nordie&amp;#039;s at Noon: The Personal Stories of Four Women &amp;quot;Too Young&amp;quot; for Breast Cancer, by Patti Balwanz, Kim Carlos, Jennifer Johnson, and Jana Peters, is another book that could inspire your friend and give her a sense that she is not alone. Patti and Jana met at their oncology clinic when Patti was 24 and single and Jana was 27 and engaged. Stunned to have breast cancer at such young ages, they began to meet for mutual support at the caf\u00E9 at the Nordstrom&amp;#039;s near their Kansas City homes. They were soon joined by Jennifer, who was 27 and five months pregnant, and Kim, 30. The four women, who became &amp;quot;bosom buddies,&amp;quot; decided to write a book about their experience and create a Website (nordiesatnoon.com) to spread the word that breast cancer can hit women under 40. In Nordie&amp;#039;s at Noon \u2014 Patti&amp;#039;s family finished her portion when she lost her battle with the disease at age 29 \u2014 they describe the tears and laughter at their luncheons and their struggles with the disease. Laughter crops up more than you would imagine in cancer books. There&amp;#039;s a healthy dose of it in Cancer Vixen, by New Yorker cartoonist Marisa Acocella Marchetto, who uses bold graphics in bright colors to tell her tale of battling and beating breast cancer. &amp;quot;What happens when a shoe-crazy, lipstick-obsessed, wine-swilling, pasta-slurping, fashion-fanatic, single-forever, about-to-get-married, big-city girl cartoonist with a fabulous life finds...a lump in her breast?&amp;quot; she begins her cartoon strip/memoir. Not about to let cancer ruin her marriage to famed restaurant owner Silvano Marchetto, Marisa lucks out. She may not have health insurance, but with the support of friends, a bossy mother, a down-to-earth and loving fianc\u00E9, and a positive attitude, she faces down the Big C. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/a21267/books-breast-cancer-jan07/>