Overview

A hilariously funny and informative memoir to guide breast cancer patients, their families and friends through the rocky terrain.Dr. Aronoff is the perfect Sherpa. Impossibly deep armpits, wigs named Brenda, nipples shaped like bullets and when to play the C-card. These are some of the things they never tell you about breast cancer. In this uplifting and poignant tale, Dr. Tali Lando Aronoff shares an honest account of her journey through the various stages of advanced breast cancer and beyond. As a pediatric ENT surgeon and mother of two toddlers and an infant just out of the Neonatal ICU, she was blind-sided by her cancer diagnosis. This well-crafted and appealing book uses small-bite storytelling to explore heavy topics such as body image and complex relationships with friends and family. Dr. Aronoffs voice is unique and relatable combining the knowledge-base of a physician and the personal insight of a patient. This is the book for the recently diagnosed, those in the thick of it or those who are finished with the battle, their family and friends and everyone else in between, including the doctors who care for them. Candid and honest her perspective as a doctor shines through heart-warming filled with truth I laughed out loud. Patients will surely benefit Subuhee Hussein, MD, Oncologist Loved it. Totally relatable and informative. F*@ck Cancer! Sara C., Breast Cancer Survivor Health care providers can learn a lot from reading this It is so important to understand the full impact of this illness on the patients we care for. Dr. Lando Aronoff is a surgeon and outstanding writer. Carolyn Wasserheit, MD, Oncologist

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9781480861763

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KIRKUS REVIEWS HELL & BACK: Wife & Mother, Doctor & Patient, Dragon Slayer BOOK REVIEW: A surgeon reflects on her battle with breast cancer in this debut memoir. In the aftermath of a rocky divorce in her early 20s, Aronoff went on to live the life that she always wanted. After years of grueling education, she became a pediatric ear-nose-and-throat surgeon, married a wonderful man, and gave birth to three children. Then, she received shocking news: her beloved father was diagnosed with an incurable, malignant brain tumor. Barely more than a week later, she discovered a hard lump on her own chest, and immediately had a doctor examine her. After a battery of tests, her worst fears were confirmed--at 37, she had breast cancer. She opted for the most aggressive response available: a full, bilateral mastectomy, combined with a lymph node dissection. However, in the wake of the procedure, the author learned that her cancer was worse than previously thought. It turned out to be at stage 3, ensuring that she would have to undergo months of chemotherapy and weeks of depleting radiation treatment. Aronoff's remembrance shifts back and forth from a microscopic consideration of her medical circumstances--including a thorough discussion of nipple reconstruction--to a discussion of the emotional consequences of her disease. She covers a broad swath of topics, including her restrictive diet, her experiments with wigs after chemotherapy led to hair loss, and her return to work during radiation treatment. The thematic twine that holds the memoir together, though, is how her experience as a patient affected her outlook as a doctor: As a physician, it opened my eyes to the vulnerability of the patient experience, the confusion, the fear and the uncertainty, she affectingly notes. The author writes lucidly and crisply, and is consistently cheerful and humorous throughout. Aronoff's expert assessment of her health challenges is instructive, and her bravery is inspiring. Her confrontation with mortality--her own, as well as her father's--apparently gave her new reserves for reflecting on her non-cancerous real life. A moving, impressively upbeat tour of a struggle with life-threatening disease.

Author Information

Tali Lando Aronoff, M.D., is a full-time pediatric otolaryngology (ENT) surgeon with a busy practice split between her offices and the operating room. She is also a mother of three young girls and an enthusiastic scuba diver and breast cancer survivor. She grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and lived in New York City for a decade before settling in Westchester, New York, with her husband and children.

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