Radical: The Science, Culture, and History of Breast Cancer in America

The writing at times was captivating but overall I spent most of my time reading this book resisting the urge to throw it across the room. The historical vignettes were extremely well done but the parts that focus on the author's experience over-eclipsed that other breast cancer patients have radically different experiences. I'm glad she found doctors who were supportive, nurses who were non-existent and had a supportive network of friends and family. I'm glad she only needed 6 chemo treatments (!) and kept her hair (somewhat less glad by the 3rd time she mentioned it). I'm glad she was able to work through a lot of this and was able to vacation in Maui. This was not my experience (except the working through it part), nor was it the prevailing experience of most of the ladies getting (~20) infusions by my side. She tells her story in a bubble and that is fine but it isn't very helpful or interesting to millions of women who will have a very, very different journey. I agree with a previous reviewer, doing everything your doctor recommends isn't "radical." This is a great book to give your mother, delicate aunt or daughter if you don't want her to worry too much about you but it isn't very helpful otherwise.

I heard Kate Pickert on NPR, interviewed by Noel King. King asked: " Did cancer change you as a person?" Kate's response was simple and straight forward and just as you would expect. The small things - her daughter's soccer games or dance performances - these are worth leaving work early for. It's such a tired concept to the point of being cliche ... It is also the truest thing going. Life is short. Think about what really matters. And, to quote the book - we have to reconcile ourselves with the fact that we all "living in prognosis." The book is a whirlwind history couched in a testimony that is deeply personal and shared with great skill. I had a hard time putting it down.

This book reads like a novel. Super interesting read, well-paced, and you'll learn a lot about things like how breast cancer awareness month started (by a company!) and the way the medical establishment works (and doesn't) for breast cancer patients. The author weaves her own experience into the story in a really moving way - she was diagnosed with cancer in her 30's, with a young child, and she writes about what that was like in an incredibly powerful way. Great book. Highly recommend.

An extremely well written book on the state of the art regarding screening and treatment of breast cancer and interwoven with her own experience with breast cancer. I am currently being treated for breast cancer, I have read several books on the subject, been to the major websites, and read a lot of journal articles. Most books are quickly outdated, most websites are unrealistically and annoyingly optimistic, and the journal articles are narrow in scope.Pickert is good at providing interesting background and covering current perspectives and prejudices in the treatment of breast cancer. This is not a stand alone book if you or someone you love has been diagnosed with cancer. Susan Love’s Breast Book is an excellent companion to this BUT it is in need of a new edition.I am in the midst of radiotherapy (12 down, 8 to go). I discovered what Pickert mentions in her book: the treatment options are regional. Cancer treatment has protocols but different doctors are influenced by where they trained and where they work. My own goal has been to find doctors who are excellent AND COLLABORATIVE. Thank God, most insurance plans will pay for second opinions (and third).

As a well-educated, mid-40s professional woman, I figured I had a pretty good general knowledge of women’s health, including breast cancer. But it turns out I really had only the most basic, and dated, understanding of a disease that is diagnosed in some 300,000 women in America every year, and has an impact on so many lives.Kate Pickert’s well-written book is really a page turner that has opened my eyes to how much I just didn’t know. I was fascinated in the ever-changing knowledge about a disease that has myriad variations and treatment regimens. I also found the personalities and work of key researchers extremely interesting - Pickert has a knack for explaining the science in a way that draws you in. Amid the reporting, including compelling and accessible accounts of breakthroughs in medical research, she deftly interweaves her own personal account of diagnosis and treatment. It’s a brilliant read - a real page turner that has sparked in me a new interest for future reading. After reading this book I now want to search out other equally compelling and well-written accounts of the history of medicine.I know this is also an overused word - but I also found the book incredibly empowering. As a woman, I want to feel informed about women’s health. Before I read this book, I just had no idea about what I didn’t know. I strongly recommend this book to all women. It will give you a better basic knowledge about breast cancer, in its many forms. And as Pickert shows us, for those diagnosed with breast cancer, knowledge is power.

Astonishing reporting and clear, sometimes heartbreaking, writing. Breast cancer touches all of us and this book demonstrates how much we have to learn and unlearn about it.

If you remember that this journalist is writing about her journey in the treatment of her breast cancer, you will get a lot out of this book. There is a lot of information regarding how breast cancer treatments have changed over the years and how to search out the treatment that best serves individual needs. Easy to read, very informative.

My wife finished treatment for breast cancer and this book is an amazing work. It’s a work from a patient’s and a reporters perspective. I think this combination brings another view to this disease. I highly encourage anyone touched by this disease to pick up a copy.

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