The Breast Defense is a Good Offense

I originally picked up Cathy Croshaw's memoir "The Breast Defense is a Good Offense" because, as superficial as it may sound, much of it takes place in Truckee. Lake Tahoe is one of my all-time favorite places; I wrote a great deal of my memoir about postpartum bipolar disorder in Alpine Meadows. I also love the health memoir genre and I especially enjoy reading books that incorporate humor, which Ms. Croshaw has done so effectively in this book.

I have enormous respect for Ms. Croshaw for sharing such a personal journey with breast cancer.

I learned a great deal about modern-day breast cancer treatments, such as making sure one receives the 3-D mammogram if at all possible. I related to Ms. Croshaw's "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow" chapter, as I lost hair from being prescribed too high dose of lithium.

Most significantly, in reading this book, I was inspired to stop procrastinating (I'll never forget the author's eye-opening conversation with "Jenny") and I scheduled my overdue mammogram! As one who has bipolar disorder and just turned 50, I also was extremely interested to read about Ms. Croshaw's manic symptoms that manifested after she received hormone therapy. She includes very helpful details about what took place, including those who could be most vulnerable to such an occurrence, her doctors' observations, landmark studies, etc., so I urge readers to check out "Chapter 25--Life After Cancer."

I'd like to add some information I discovered thanks to getting my mammogram last week. There is now a screening called ABUS (Automated Breast Ultrasound) for those with very dense breasts, which I have. ABUS improves early detection in women with dense breasts. This screening has been clinically shown to improve breast cancer detection by 35.7% over mammography alone, and is especially useful at detecting smaller and earlier stage cancers in dense breasts.

So yes, ABUS is done in addition to the mammogram, and many forms of insurance covers the test. A doctor's referral is needed, and I'm so grateful that I'll be getting an ABUS screening this month.

Thanks again to Cathy Croshaw for writing a book that will help so many people. All in all, this book is such a worthwhile read. "The Breast Defense is a Good Defense" will surely save lives.