Ann Thorsen recommended the book 'Thriving After Breast Cancer' by
Sherry Leved Davis and Stephanie Gunning in response to my request for
ideas for excercise after a mastectomy.  She asked that I report on the
book since she hadn't read it, but had been praised by others.

The book is essentially devoted to excercises for those experiencing
the after effects of a mastectomy or reconstruction.  There are a host
of excercises to choose from, each detailed with explicit instructions
and pictures.  Excercises are provided for restoring flexibility,
combating pain, developing balance and  post-reconstructon among other
areas.  Many of the excercises are repeated across chapters so the
choices are not so overwhelming as they may seem at first.  As to their
efficacy, only time and their application will tell.

A final section is devoted to the problems of prostethic breasts,
coping with chemo and radiation among other things.

For the newly diagnosed, the book could be very helpful.  Its strengths
are the many suggested movements that could assist in alleviating  post
surgery discomfort.

I bought the book from abebooks.com - my first stop when ordering
books.  I got a new copy for $4, but there were used copies for as
little as $1. Even though abebooks has a link to UK booksellers, the
book was not available there - only in the US.

I don't know how many breast cancer patients maintain an excercise
routine, but I'm convinced that it is extremely useful and this book
provides a very good start.

MM