Kindle Edition Amazon mackenziecrowne.com Category:  Health/Wellness Publisher: Mackenzie Crowne ISBN-10:  B009AEU4WG Pages: 47 Copyright: Sept 12, 2012 Price: $2.99 (eBook) A survivor's guide to navigating the breast cancer abyss with humor and hope. Excerpt Cancer. Though it’s not a four-letter word, it sure conjures up a lot of them. I can’t tell you the first word that popped into my mind, and out of my mouth, when I received the call diagnosing me with breast cancer — it’s a bad word, my mother would be horrified. I can tell you it wasn’t Woopie! Crap. That’s like six letters. Sorry. Many other four-letter words quickly joined that first, shocked sentiment. Fear, Sick, Pain, Loss, Hell, Dead... You get the drift. If you’re reading this and you’ve received a similar diagnosis, I don’t want to scare you. You’re scared enough already and have probably experienced many of these words yourself, but though your fears are justified, I can share one four-letter word that trumps all the others. Hope. Okay, so it took me a little while to get from those nasty words to that one, but I did get there. It’s been five years since I took that phone call. I’m no longer the same woman I was that day, however, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sure, I faced some truly crappy stuff, but I also learned a lot about myself in the process. Let me tell you, living like you are dying has some unexpected benefits — once you get past the ‘holy shit’ factor. To do that, I needed to get through the first few weeks. They passed in a haze of doctor’s appointments and terror. During that time, I met the first of many strangers who claimed to be breast cancer survivors. I remember being jolted by the very concept. Here was a woman who had been where I currently was, and yet she seemed so confident and upbeat, almost serene. Her attitude made no sense to me. Honestly, I thought she was a nut job. I certainly didn’t feel like a survivor. Instead, I felt like a victim. Suddenly, everywhere I looked were pink ribbons and survivors. They came out of the woodwork like members of a secret society, calling to me to enter into the fold. But I didn’t feel I belonged. I wasn’t anything like those women. They danced, victorious on the other side of an abyss, while I staggered under quiet disbelief. A wise person once said, Life happens. It’s time to pull on your big girl panties and deal with it. Big girl panties in place, I took those first, staggering steps toward survival. Five years later, I am cancer free and somehow, during those life-altering years, I managed to navigate the abyss to join the survivors waiting for me on the other side. The following pages are my personal observations on my odyssey. I am a survivor. You can be too. Victory is ours.

Uplifting, Honest and Reassuring.
Wow. Thank you Mackenzie for writing this book. It was beautiful, heart-rending and strangely uplifting. I wish I'd had this book before my mother-in-law passed from breast cancer. I think it would have helped me help her in small ways and take a lot of the fear I felt away. Its always fear of the unknown that scares us most and this book addresses that with humour and charm as we follow one woman's journey from diagnosis, treatment and finally through to recovery.

Thank you for sharing such a personal story Mackenzie.

Amazing
As a recent survivor of breast cancer myself, this book made me laugh, cry, and nod my head in agreement. I know that no ones journey is identical but there are many similarities in each journey because we are humans with emotions, families, friends and free will. I can relate to so much of her journey.
This is must read for patients and caregivers.

Inspiring and humerous book of hope
A shot of hope and humor in an easy to read short book is just what the doctor ordered not only for cancer patients but for anyone. When life is scary or even just difficult as it often can be, this book provides a dose of inspiration to change your perspective and keep going!