It's Not (Just) About the Breast: The Cancer Road Less Walked A Young Woman's Cancer Story tells the story of Aussie physio Petrina Burnett’s diagnosis with triple negative, BRCA-mutated breast cancer at age 31. It’s a refreshing and much-needed account of what it’s like to face breast cancer as a young woman and to grapple with a genetic disease. Petrina’s deep personal insights and her expertise as a health care provider mean her perspective is rare and valuable. She covers not only her personal treatment journey but also wider issues unique to younger women with breast cancer. She describes not only with the immediate impacts of surgery, chemo and radiation, but also how she has dealt with lasting impacts on her finances and her career, with family reactions to the discovery of the BRCA mutation, facing and managing the prospect of infertility, and the long-term impacts of surgeries and therapies on her body. She shares her gained wisdom about the psychological impacts of her experiences. She is not afraid to reveal her vulnerability, but also describes the strategies she has found helpful for living with her fears and moving on with courage and hope. Petrina’s voice is authentic, realistic, informed, insightful and uplifting.
We highly recommend this book to any young woman facing a breast cancer diagnosis, as well as their friends, their families and their doctors.
In New Zealand, Petrina’s book can be obtained online from Mighty Ape, Fishpond or Amazon.
