The 10 Best Questions for Surviving Breast Cancer: The Script You Need to Take Control of Your Health »

Dede Bonner, Ph.D., a.k.a. “the Question Doctor,” is on the graduate business faculties of The George Washington University and Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia. She is an internationally acclaimed expert in questioning skills and money-saving “Best Questions” for CEOs and other clients. A former political analyst for the federal government, Dr. Bonner is the owner of the 10 Best Questions, LLC and New Century Management, Inc. She has a doctorate of education in executive leadership.

A good mind knows the right answers...but a great mind knows the right questions. And never are the Best Questions more important than after a diagnosis of breast cancer.

Drawing on cutting-edge research and original interviews -- including with former surgeon general C. Everett Koop, bestselling author Dr. Susan Love, well-known breast cancer survivors like Betty Rollin, and experts at the top cancer-care centers in the world -- The 10 Best Questions™ for Surviving Breast Cancer is a guide you'll take with you into your doctor's office and keep close to you through every step of your treatment and recovery. In addition to the medical questions, you'll also learn what you need to ask your friends, colleagues, and loved ones so that the rest of your life doesn't take a backseat to your diagnosis:

"How many days I can afford to be out?" (p. 211)

"What questions are my children likely to ask?" (p. 261)

"When will I be comfortable being intimate again with my partner?" (p. 234)

With a wealth of resources and up-to-the-minute information, The 10 Best Questions™ for Surviving Breast Cancer shows you how to move past a scary diagnosis and use the power of questions to become your own best advocate for your emotional, mental, physical, and financial health.

Publishers Weekly

Bonner, who calls herself "the Question Doctor," teaches CEOs how to be more effective by asking the right questions and is on the graduate business faculty at George Washington University and Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia. After interviewing a number of experts in breast cancer oncology and surgery as well as in other fields, she divides her topic into three sections: Talking with Your Medical Team, Choosing Treatments and Living Your Life (including emotional, financial and social well-being). In each chapter, Bonner presents 10 important questions (as well as well-researched answers), and an additional "Magic Question" that many people never ask but later wish they had. Noting that a well-educated patient has the best chance of survival, Bonner encourages readers to become actively involved in their own care and to develop a communicative relationship with their cancer care team. Along with incisive questions, Bonner offers tips on how to be politely insistent to ensure questions get the responses they deserve. A chapter also addresses questions the reader might ask herself, and ways to impart the news of a breast cancer diagnosis to children (i.e., in an age-appropriate, honest and forthright manner). This will be a valuable guide for those with cancer as well as their families. Regrettably, 10 best questions regarding lifestyle and nutrition choices are not sufficiently addressed. (Oct.)

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Acknowledgments vii Foreword Dr. Marisa C. Weiss xi Introduction 1 Part I Talking with Your Medical Team 5 The 10 Best Questions
1 About Your Initial Diagnosis of Breast Cancer 7
2 To Find a Top Oncologist or Surgeon 19
3 To Ask About Your Pathology Report 33
4 To Assess a Doctor or Surgeon After Your First Consultation 51
5 To Ask When Getting a Second Opinion 61 Part II Choosing Treatments 71 The 10 Best Questions
6 Before Breast Surgery 73
7 For Choosing a Hospital 87
8 About Chemotherapy 99
9 About Radiation Therapy 113
10 About Hormone Therapy 125
11 Before Participating in a Clinical Trial 139
12 For Choosing Complementary Therapies 153
13 About Breast Reconstruction Surgery 165 Part III Living Your Life-Now and Beyond Breast Cancer 177 The 10 Best Questions:
14 To Maintain Your Emotional Health 179
15 Before Joining a Support Group 193
16 For Financial Health After Breast Cancer 205
17 When Talking with Your Partner 221
18 Before Breaking the News to Others 239
19 Before Telling Your Children About Your Breast Cancer 253
20 The 10 Worst Questions to Ask a Breast Cancer Patient 267 Conclusion: Living Well Beyond Breast Cancer 275 Bibliography 277 Meet the Experts 303 Index 311