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Average Customer Rating: 
(18 reviews)
Editorial Review: A timely, affecting memoir from the front lines of medical science: When genetics can predict how we may die, how then do we decide how to live?
Eleven months after her mother succumbs to cancer, Jessica Queller has herself tested for the BRCA “breast cancer” gene mutation. The results come back positive, putting her at a terrifyingly elevated risk of developing breast cancer before the age of fifty and ovarian cancer in her lifetime. Thirty-four, unattached, and yearning for marriage and a family of her own, Queller faces an agonizing choice: a lifetime of vigilant screenings and a commitment to fight the disease when caught, or its radical alternative—a prophylactic double mastectomy that would effectively restore life to her, even as it would challenge her most closely held beliefs about body image, identity, and sexuality.
Superbly informed and armed with surprising wit and style, Queller takes us on an odyssey from the frontiers of scienc...
Customer Reviews:
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Wonderful and Touching!, 2008-06-24
I am faced with the same genetic predisposition to breast cancer and it was a life-saver to read about another person's triumph.
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Pretty Is What Changes, 2008-05-24
The author explained her gene risk for breast cancer and ovarian cancer in an emotional informative way. I purchased the book because my daughter, twin sister and myself had just been tested for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutation. Our test results are that we all have a "variant" that is the same so it is genetic but it is a variant that the lab has never seen in the whole world thus it is "uncertain" what it means other than it is genetically being passed in our family. Reading this book helped me understand gene mutations. The author truly is "beautiful" inside and out.
Joan Reams
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FANTASTIC MEMOIR OF THE BRCA JOURNEY, 2008-05-21
This book is a must for anyone with the BRCA mutation or anyone who wants to understand a woman's journey after she finds out she has a BRCA mutation. It is brutally honest and therefore, absolutely compelling. As one who has walked this path, I can tell you that Jessica is very brave to lay it all out there for others to benefit from. I wish her health and happiness.
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BRACAnalysis!, 2008-05-17
After reading this book I realized the medical community has only identified 3% of BRCA mutation carriers!!! We all need to go to www.myriad.com and see if we meet the red flags to be tested so we can educate ourselves to prevent a first or second breast cancer.
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Great informative memoir., 2008-05-14
I really appreciate Jessica's candid memoir. It is very helpful to women who are in the same situation. Also, for the friends and family, to help them understand the patients point of view. Thank you, Jessica.
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