Every three minutes in the United States, a woman is told she has breast cancer. That translates into one in every eight American women -- or over 184,000 women in 2008. There are thousands of books, Web sites, and support groups available to help these women deal with every aspect of this devastating disease. But for men, there was really nothing at all for them to turn to, left to figure out how to help their wife, mother, sister, daughter, aunt, cousin, colleague, or friend -- and how to deal with their own fears and frustrations -- on their own. John W. Anderson had not four women in his life go through breast cancer -- his wife, his mom, his sister, and his mom’s best friend. It was then that he realized that all his experiences, combined with other men’s journeys through “Cancer Land” could be of help to other men facing their own journeys. So he wrote STAND BY HER: A Breast Cancer Guide for Men (AMACOM 2009) which offers strategies and support on the countless minefields men face, every day, as husbands, sons, brothers, fathers, nephews, cousins, colleagues, and friends of breast cancer patients. “You are about to be initiated into an exclusive men’s club, a group millions strong of men who have traveled the difficult journey you are about to undertake,” Anderson tells his readers upfront. “Welcome to the Stand by Her brotherhood.” Written exclusively for men, STAND BY HER talks directly to them about what they can expect to go through with with their loved one, before during and after her treatment. Throughout the book, Anderson combines personal anecdotes and accounts from other men who have been there with expert advice on medical, psychological, family relationship, sexual, and financial issues. Each chapter focuses on each stage in the breast cancer process, framed with its own unique color to symbolize what the reader and their loved one are facing. Starting with the dreaded moment of diagnosis, when the world goes black, STAND BY HER walks men through every step on how to become an invaluable caregiver and ally in their loved one’s breast cancer battles, as well as how to take care of themselves. - Publisher.
