September is Ovarian Cancer and Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.
According to the Center for Disease Control, 20,000 women in the United States get ovarian cancer each year. It causes more deaths than any other cancer of the reproductive system, despite its accounting for only 3 percent of all cancers in women.
Your library has a plethora of materials to help you understand the importance of both getting tested through your health care provider and be aware of any symptoms and ways of prevention.
“The Menopause Book,” by Pat Wingert and Barbara Kantrowitz, is an excellent resource and uses cutting-edge research on hormones and other topics including the subtle symptoms of ovarian cancer.
Dr. Barry Wren’s book “Menopause: Change, Choice, and HRT,” discusses hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as well as aspects of menopause, as well as ovarian cancer.
We also have memoirs by women who have survived ovarian cancer, including Susan Gubar’s “Memoir of a Debulked Woman Enduring Ovarian Cancer,” in which Gubar talks about both the psychological and physical affects her bout with ovarian cancer had on her life.
“It’s Not About Perfect: Competing for My Country and Fighting for My Life” is Olympian Shannon Miller’s account of her upbringing, her Olympic triumphs and her battle with ovarian cancer.
“Healthy Eating for Life for Women” by Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, is a comprehensive guide to better healthy eating habits includes sections on cancer prevention, and uterine and ovarian cancer.
This month is also Prostate Cancer Month. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) states that prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the Unites States, aside from non-melonoma cancer.
Your library has information about prostate cancer covered, too.
“Dr. Patrick Walsh’s Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer” offers information on the nature of the ailment, potential causes, various treatments, and possible side effects, such as impotence.
Andrew J. Roth’s “Managing Prostate Cancer: A Guide for Living Better” is aimed at someone who has been newly diagnosed, and suggests strategies to handle questions and challenges due to the diagnosis.
“Prostate Cancer Breakthroughs 2014: New tests, new treatments, Better options: a step-by-step guide to cutting-edge diagnostic tests and 12 medically-proven treatments” by Jay S. Cohen, takes you through the entire diagnosis process answering your questions, and ones to ask, as well as twelve different treatment choices to consider.
There is also a memoir by Hamilton Jordan, “No Such Thing as a Bad Day,” in which the survivor of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, melanoma, and prostate cancer reflects about his life, service in Vietnam, taking part in the Civil Rights movement, and chief-of-staff in the Carter administration.
He talks about being proactive and maintaining a positive attitude in the face of a terminal disease. This is available as an audiobook through RB Digital, one of our electronic resources.
David Breakfield is a reference librarian at the Downtown Central Library. Speaking Volumes, written by Manatee County Public Library System staff members, is published each Sunday in the Bradenton Herald. You can access the library at mymanatee.org/library.