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The phrase "humor is the best medicine" continues to be a popular one and
perhaps truly the best thing one can say about treating a dangerous illness. If that's the
case, then THANKS FOR THE MAMMOGRAM! will prove to be a great boon to everyone who suffers
from the disease, as well as all those who love someone suffering from it. Laura Jensen
Walker tells her own story about her battle against the disease and the eight years since
that she has been all right. It is heartwarming, frightening, full of information valuable
to patient and loved one, as well as funny and brave.
THANKS FOR THE MAMMOGRAM! was the best means for Walker, a Sacramento Bee journalist, to
expel the demons she said still harbored about her after her treatments. Early detection
saved her life, and there has never been a better case made for the constant attention of
every woman to her own breast care. Self-exams aside, Walker discusses everything from
surgery to chemo to the value of ice chips when nausea takes over one's life. She is a
strong and valuable voice in the fight against miseducation and, hopefully, THANKS FOR THE
MAMMOGRAM! will be a story that holds both fun and fury for the reader who needs it as
well as those who are just curious about this epidemic, should it ever strike them.
"The insurmountable joys of hospital life," the trip to Disneyland she takes
after her chemo is over, the "To Baldly Go Where I'd Never Gone Before" (clearly
about her struggles with hair loss and the aftermath of chemo) are all just stops on the
journey that Walker so ably takes us through. It is still amazing to me that someone can
make light of such a dangerous and death-defying event, and yet Walker does it with simple
language and a self-deprecating humor that most readers will appreciate.
THANKS FOR THE MAMMOGRAM is entertaining, insightful and informational. A great read.
--- Reviewed by Jana Siciliano
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