Uplift: Secrets from the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors

by Barbara Delinsky

Bestselling author Barbara Delinsky, whose life has been shaped by her mother's breast cancer as well as her own, has created the book she wished had existed when she went through her treatment. Uplift is a one-of-a-kind collection of anecdotes and advice, told in the words of everyday women of all ages who are part of the ever-growing sisterhood of breast cancer survivors. You won't find medical advice or technical matters discussed here. But you will find all the little things that only someone who's been there can tell you about. What kind of deodorant can I use during radiation? Are there certain foods that really satisfy on treatment days? How do I address my surgery with my coworkers? Is it really okay to lean on my friends? How can I still feel feminine? Is there romance after breast cancer? What can I do to feel more in control of my body and my life?
But Uplift isn't only for those with breast cancer. Friends and family can read it to find out what they can best do to help. And men? Uplift contains quotes from them, too. They share what worked best and how they felt as they helped the women in their lives through it all.
Practical, warm, funny, reassuring, supportive, personal...the insights by the contributors to Uplift reveal how they faced their fears and came through their ordeal ready to get on with life and love, career and family -- and how you can too. If there is one book you'll want to keep close at hand as a nightstand support group, Uplift is it.

Genres: Nonfiction

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

I was born and raised in suburban Boston. My mother’s death, when I was eight, was the defining event of a childhood that was otherwise ordinary. I took piano lessons and flute lessons. I took ballroom dancing lessons. I went to summer camp through my fifteenth year (in Maine, which explains the setting of so many of my stories), then spent my sixteenth summer learning to type and to drive (two skills that have served me better than all of my other high school courses combined). I earned a B.A. in Psychology at Tufts University and an M.A. in Sociology at Boston College. The motivation behind the M.A. was sheer greed. My husband was just starting law school. We needed the money.

Following graduate school, I worked as a researcher with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and as a photographer and reporter for the Belmont Herald. I did the newspaper work after my first son was born. Since I was heavily into taking pictures of him, I worked for the paper to support that habit. Initially, I wrote only in a secondary capacity, to provide copy for the pictures I took. In time, I realized that I was better at writing than photography. I used both skills doing volunteer work for hospital groups, and have served on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and on the MGH’s Women’s Cancer Advisory Board.

I became an actual writer by fluke. My twins were four when, by chance, I happened on a newspaper article profiling three female writers. Intrigued, I spent three months researching, plotting, and writing my own book - and it sold.

My niche? I write about the emotional crises that we face in our lives. Readers identify with my characters. They know them. They are them. I'm an everyday woman writing about everyday people facing not-so-everyday challenges.

My novels are character-driven studies of marriage, parenthood, sibling rivalry, and friendship, and I’ve been blessed in having readers who buy them eagerly enough to put them on the major bestseller lists. One of my latest, Sweet Salt Air, came out in 2013.  Blueprints, my second novel with St. Martin’s Press, became my 22nd New York Times bestselling novel soon after its release in June 2015.  Making Up, my work in progress, will be published in 2018.

2018? Yikes. I didn’t think I’d live that long. I thought I’d die of breast cancer back in the 1900's, like my mom. But I didn’t. I was diagnosed nearly twenty years ago, had surgery and treatment, and here I am, stronger than ever and loving having authored yet another book, this one the non-fiction Uplift: Secrets From the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors. First published in 2001, Uplift is a handbook of practical tips and upbeat anecdotes that I compiled with the help of 350 breast cancer survivors, their families and friends. These survivors just ... blew me away! They gave me the book that I wish I’d had way back when I was diagnosed. There is no medical information here, nothing frightening, simply practical advice from friends who’ve had breast cancer. The 10th Anniversary Volume of Uplift is now in print. And the money I’ve made on the book? Every cent has gone to my charitable foundation, which funds an ongoing research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Connect with me on Facebook: facebook.com/bdelinsky
Look for my photos on Instagram: instagram.com/barbaradelinsky

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a ray of sunshine during a very dark period in my life.

I was floored with a diagnoses of Triple Negative Breast Cancer at the age of 37. In search of help and information I turned to book after book on the subject of breast cancer. They were all very informative of course, but there was very little heart in them. This book was vastly different. It is a collection of little stories and tips that are very helpful to the newly diagnosed patient. Things that you wouldn't necessarily think about, like while in chemo treatment... be careful when washing your face you might wipe one of your eyebrows right off and there was a funny story of a lady who did that same thing and much to her chagrin... the other brow was not ready to let go. lol.

There are funny stories and tips, and heart warming messages, and little pick-me-ups, and bits of inspiration here and there that really helped me along in my own battle. If you or someone you love is facing breast cancer and chemotherapy is in their future, this would be a wonderful gift for them. There is life and laughter in cancer treatment. This book was my first taste of that.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is nice to read other peoples journey and how they coped. Learned a couple "tricks".

[Jane Royal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was honored to be asked to contribute to this book for the First Edition. I had no idea that I would once again be a survivor of a non-related bc in Thanksgiving 2008. I refuse to use capital letters as it gives bc more importance than I feel it needs! I have gifted this book to many friends. My brother, before he retired, donated copies to his hospital oncology department for patients and families to read. I would share a few funny stories with my high school students in May while treating them to pink cupcakes to celebrate my "birthday"... still here. I sincerely hope others will read and share this book in all of its editions.

We are strong! We are vital! We are Amazon Women!! Never forget that!!!

[Mal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was originally published in 2001 (the year of my second breast cancer diagnosis) but as relevant today as it was then. It is full of stories, thoughts, helpful hints from many, many women who have been through breast cancer.

[Denise Barstow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent compilation of stories by women who have survived breast cancer. This boon gives me hope as I face a recurrence and now a double mastectomy. I ordered 2 more to donate to my Breast Care Center and Cancer Center Libraries.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would be a great read for folks going through BC. You can borrow my copy of it if you need it.

[Murlene Leech · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. A must read for anyone diagnosed with breast cancer. Advice and helpful information from those who have been there before.

[K. Lincoln · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm writing this review as a survivor of breast cancer 5 months out from end of treatment (surgery, chemo, and radiation, the whole "slash, poison and burn" trio).

All the ways that people use to cope with a diagnosis of cancer are important. One thing you learn is that there are multiple "good" ways to cope (mine included lots of denial and chocolate.) Some go online, others join in-person support groups, some go way into denial and hardly admit to anyone what is going on.

And it's all good.

My own way-- obsessively reading Breastcancer.org's message boards-- helped me realize the two important facts presented in this book: a) I'm not alone. Not even with weird side effects or emotions and b) My own way of dealing with things is okay.

I also found tips on things like sucking on popsicles during Adriamycin infusion and going ahead and icing my fingers during taxol despite the doubts of my MD.

This book is like a condensed version of those message boards. The author gathered snippets of a large number of women's experiences and organized them into chapters. You can read the parts you need, and skip the ones you don't (for me it was chemo, radiation, recovery and I only read a bit of the parts about "losing a breast").

I imagine if you have someone whose job doesn't force them to spend obscene amounts of time online, or who isn't comfortable posting personal questions on public message boards, this would be a very, very useful book to have since it basically does the job of giving a wide variety of POSITIVE viewpoints (sometimes message boards can be over-populated by people having worse than normal reactions) that still acknowledge the struggles women diagnosed with breast cancer undergo.

Kudos to Delinsky for creating/editing this resource. It's probably more useful and timely for women at the start or midway through their treatment journey than it is for people like me at the end, but it did make me laugh a couple of times (the one woman who said "I'm so used to being naked in front of people now that I feel the urge to take my top off whenever I go into a small office" and the woman whose husband juggled work schedules to get her a sunny holiday in the virgin islands during her treatment at a place that turned out to be a topless beach!) and reaffirmed that the most important pieces of info you can give a person undergoing breast cancer treatment are what Delinsky emphasizes in this book: You are not alone. Your way of coping is okay.

[Sherrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Uplift" by Barbara Delinsky
(from inside flap)

Bestselling author Barbara Delinsky, whose own life was dramatically shaped by her mother's breast cancer as well as her own, creates with this book exactly the kind of resource she wished had existed at the time of her treatment.
You won't find medical advice or technical matters discussed in this unprecedented book. What readers will find are all the things that only the women who have already been there can tell us--from nitty-gritty tips on even the smallest details of daily life to inspiring personal anecdotes that by turns amuse, comfort, and instruct. Survivors share their answers to questions like:"Are there certain foods that are best for treatment days?" "When it comes to leaning on my frieds, how much is 'too much'?" "How can I still feel feminine?"
Uplift isn't only for those with breast cancer. Friends and family can find out how they can help. And men share what worked best and how they felt when a woman they cared about was going through treatment.
Practical, warm, funny, reassuring, and always real, Uplift arms readers with the various means by which countless women diagnosed with breast cancer have faced their fears, survived their ordeal, and bravely gotten on with life and love, career and family.

This is a great book for any woman to read. But if you are actually going through this or have a friend going through the ordeal of breast cancer, this is the book to read. There all kinds of tips from getting through Chemo and Radiation to finding a T-Shirt that works for you. There are even tips on what to do when your hair starts falling out. Wonderful Book!!!

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for someone who has breast cancer and their care helper.
The author speaks about her experiences. Then she interviewed many different women.
It was a positive book. It was like attending a group meeting and everybody sharing what helped them. I got a lot of good tips from women that had gone before me.
They also tell what their friends , family did for them. The best part for me was looking at the date a person's cancer was found and the publishing date of the book date. Some people were cancer free 20 yrs, 13, 5 ,7. The book has a good title "Uplift". I will re read this book, just a section I need or the whole book.

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not a fictional story, rather it is a compilation of blurbs written by breast cancer survivors. The author tried to divide the chapters so, if there was a subject in which the reader was not interested or just wanted to skip, he could. Some of the chapters are the workplace, wigs, religion, humor, chemo, radiation, support groups, and on and on. As one who is going through chemo now, I can tell you the book was very uplifting and even informative. It was funny, surprising, but not sad. I highly recommend it for anyone with breast cancer.

[Stephrose · Rating 4 out of 5]

the only breast cancer book that didn't totally depress me or overwhelm me. in the midst of my bad days i could pick this up and smile. when my chemo brain is foggy, this is still and easy read.

Uplift: great title

[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful to read during my first bout with breast cancer.

[Suellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very positive, life-affirming read for someone going through breast cancer treatment.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collection of anecdotes and advice told by women and men who have gone through breast cancer treatment.

[Aimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book to anyone recently diagnosed with breast cancer! It really helped me realized I was not alone in the many emotions I was going through.

[Selena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful. Good usable advice for dealing with breast cancer treatment.