Just Attitude

A breezy guidebook for those who need or want to laugh at the bizarre world of breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and healing.

After my diagnosis and during treatments for breast cancer, lots of people (including good friends who should have known better) said to me, “Oh! You’ve got such a good attitude!” To which my invariable reply was, “Honey, this ain’t ‘good’ attitude, it’s just attitude.” As you read these brief chapters, you will come to understand why. Many well-meaning guides already exist for journeys like mine: doctors, nurses, physicians’ assistants, lab techs, web sites, national, regional and local non-profit organizations, friends who’ve been there before, support groups, counselors. But few of them think to share the real nitty gritty of daily life on this road, some because they do not know, others because they think the information is too trivial, or too weird, or both. If you are on, or have been on, this road yourself, you know what I mean. And you also know why I wrote this little guidebook for my fellow road warriors everywhere. Leslie Wildesen

Leslie E. Wildesen, Ph.D. has been an environmental professional for over 40 years, and she has had a somewhat warped sense of humor for even longer than that. In 2008, she was diagnosed with breast cancer after attending an international conference on cumulative effects -- oooh, too coincidental. She paid very, very close attention to the events that followed (when she was awake and alert) and hopes that this compilation of short, observational essays can be helpful to others on the path. Or at least make them laugh.