Welcome to the Pink Side

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Sometimes, you can judge a book by its cover. One glance at this slender, softcover volume studded with the classic Susan G. Komen crisscrossed pink ribbons and it is obvious that the Pink Side will not be about little girls or the feminist movement. Written by a postanesthesia care unit nurse, this book is the story of the author's very personal four-year journey through breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery.

The book is printed in a large font with double-spaced text only on every other page. The format ensures that it will not take long to read under any circumstances, but the author's style and candor make the narrative race by in can't-put-it-down-until-the-end fashion. Writing in the conversational language of nurses, the author frequently uses medical terms and follows them with brief descriptions that non-health care professionals can easily understand. There is no introduction or preface, simply a dedication page from the author stating her appreciation of friends and coworkers whom she mentions throughout the text. On the back cover, the author speaks of her reasons for writing the book, which she says was a means of overcoming her fears and finding inner strength. Approximately a quarter of the way through the book, the author explains that she chose the title phrase, Pink Side, when she was reminded of a line from Star Wars about crossing over to the “Dark Side.”

Her story is graphic and filled with many dark moments, but it is balanced with hope, humor, faith, and stories about the support she received from her family and friends. The book does not contain a biography or photograph of the author, but, in the early pages, she introduces herself as a 40-something, single woman not yet diagnosed with cancer who had overcome body issues to become confident, strong, and happy with herself.

Health care professionals often joke that if asked to predict which patient will experience complications, pick the nurse or physician because as patients, nurses and physicians often experience more complications than anyone else. The author's journey reinforces that perception because she experienced complications throughout her course of treatment. Every step of her journey presented another test of her courage and determination, from the initial bleeding episode a few months after a negative mammogram through cancer radiation burns, cancer recurrence, a double mastectomy, reconstruction, and infection that led to implant removal.

Nurses who read this book may gain a new perspective on wound drains and tissue expanders, as well as a greater understanding of the physical and emotional experiences of a patient with breast cancer. Near the end of the narrative, the author discusses her decision to get prostheses rather than try a second reconstructive surgery and explains that she is once again happy with the woman she has become. I think all health care professionals and any woman who has been touched by breast cancer, whether her own or that of someone close to her, will find this book informative, comforting, and uplifting.