Just As Much a Woman: Your Personal Guide to Hysterectomy and Beyond
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Next to cesarean sections, hysterectomies are the most common surgical procedure in the United States today, with about 590,000 of them performed annually. A hysterectomy is frightening to contemplate not only because it's considered a major surgical procedure, but also because of the life changes that may follow: "instant" menopause, weight gain, the need for hormone replacement therapy, depression over the loss of femaleness, and the realization of one's mortality. Other adjustments that are overlooked in many books on the topic but covered in depth here are the difficulties with sex and relationships. Just As Much a Woman tackles all these topics frankly, with a refreshing sense of humor, from the perspective of a woman who had a less than ideal experience when she had her hysterectomy and who would like to prevent others from that agony.
Authors Dianna Bolen and Nancy Rosenfeld stress that the first things to consider when faced with the recommendation of hysterectomy are to get a second opinion and to educate yourself on all the treatment options. Rosenfeld balked at the immediate surgery her doctor recommended ("I can't... we have friends in town from out of the country") but was shocked to learn from the second opinion that her uterine fibroid was more likely to be malignant than not.
She offers 16 questions to ask your doctor before surgery (including the potentially embarrassing "What will fill up the space once the tumor and female organs have been removed?") and her doctor's responses to them. She also offers sage advice on how to prepare both your body and mind for the surgery; how to choose among the different types of anesthesia; five reasons to lobby for a private room if you can afford it; and how to speed recuperation both in the hospital and at home. Profiles of 12 other hysterectomy patients (ages 27 to 65) reveal that there is widespread, unnecessary suffering by women both before and after hysterectomies--much of which could be avoided with the information contained in this book.
Review
Are you facing the possibility of a hysterectomy? You're not alone.
Just As Much a Woman: Your Personal Guide to Hysterectomy and Beyond
Just As Much a Woman: Your Personal Guide to Hysterectomy and Beyond,Nancy Rosenfeld,Dianna W. Bolen,Prima Lifestyles,0761518207,Consumer Health,Diet / Health / Fitness,General,Health & Fitness,Health/Fitness,Hysterectomy,Popular works,Women's Health - General,Health & Fitness / Women's Health
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