This compassionate guide presents an array of new perspectives on the emotional effects of breast cancer and includes many personal testimonies from women who have been diagnosed with this disease. Written by a breast cancer survivor and practising psychologist, it shares practical ideas to help support sufferers at all stages, be it at diagnosis, during treatment or during life after the initial treatments are over. The concise, easy-to-read format includes exercises to develop an acceptance of thoughts and feelings, whilst the individual accounts validate the multitude of emotions felt by sufferers. It is a must for all breast cancer patients and sufferers, their families and friends. Its real-life approach, using first hand accounts, is also highly recommended for all health and social care professionals wanting a fresh approach to managing the emotional impacts of breast cancer. The shock of being diagnosed with breast cancer is hard to describe in words, as anyone who has had to suffer this diagnosis knows. Until it happens to us, we cannot really know how it feels. Not only do we have to deal with the diagnosis and subsequent treatments, but also we have to deal with the fact that breast cancer profoundly affects how we feel about ourselves as women. From the Introduction