My Mother's Breast: Daughters Face Their Mothers' Cancer

When a woman finds out her mother has breast cancer, her world becomes a tornado, whirling with fears of her mother's disfigurement, pain, and death, and the panic and certainty that she will be next to develop the disease. Award-winning journalist Laurie Tarkan (whose mother died of a liver disorder when Tarkan was 11 years old) interviewed many women whose mothers had breast cancer. She chose 16 daughters' stories for My Mother's Breast, sprinkling each narrative with her commentary and that of psychologists.

Many of the mother-daughter stories are love stories, but some are not. Felicia's mother told her, "One reason I have breast cancer is because you kicked my breasts when you were little." Kathie's mother hid from her the fact that she was dying, so Kathie was never able to say goodbye. Some of the daughters who are their mother's support system can't find support themselves, like Jill: "My mother had breast cancer, my father was a wreck, my brother [was] an alcoholic, and my grandmother was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. My boyfriend was giving me problems on top of that." Not all the daughters are models of virtue and emotional stability, either: 17-year-old Stacy was a self-destructive rebel even through her mother's chemotherapy; 13-year-old Julie became bulimic.

Both the mothers and the daughters run the gamut of personalities and emotions. If you have a mother with breast cancer, you'll understand that you're not alone with your fears and concerns, and these real-life examples will enhance your understanding of your experience. --Joan Price