This book has dual purposes. It is intended to provide breast cancer patients with a compendium of information about their disease and its ramifications, symptoms, progression, and treatment options. It also tries to give physicians a clearer understanding of the emotions, preconceptions, fears, questions, and problems that their patients will confront. This third edition was updated by its coauthors—John Bostwick, a surgeon specializing in breast reconstruction, and Karen Berger, a medical publisher who has long written about and worked with women with breast cancer.