Why I Wore Lipstick: To My Mastectomy

By Geralyn Lucas

Book Overview

A soulful, surprising coming of age journey by a dynamo who used her own adversity as a platform for examining issues all young women face.Having finished journalism school and landed her dream job at age 27, the last thing Geralyn Lucas expects to hear is a breast cancer diagnosis. She decides to go public with her disease despite fears about the backlash at work, and her bold choices in treatment are irreverent and uplifting. When her breast is under construction and her hair is falling out, her skirts get shorter. She goes to work every day and gets promoted. She has sex with her bandages on. She reinvents her beauty and in a bold move of conscious objection, forgoes the final phase of her breast reconstruction: the nipple. She is reborn in a tattoo parlor when she gets a heart tattoo where her nipple once was.Geralyn recovers from her mastectomy and chemo and has a baby in the same hospital where she was treated for cancer. What could have been a huge negative for this young cancer survivor became the impetus to examine her own sexuality and burgeoning womanhood. Virtually nothing has been written for women of a young age who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. This book also deals with the broader issue of self-acceptance that anyone grappling with questions of illness, self-image and sexuality can identify with.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312334451
• ISBN13: 9780312334451
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.7" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Great breast cancer story

I first saw the movie - while I was going through breast cancer myself at 32. Months later - I bought the book. I loved it! I was able to understand what other people went through. It was easy to read with lots of charm. I feel like I really know her and want to read more about how her life is today. I have shared this book with others so they can also understand what it is like to have breast cancer. It should be read by anyone with a loved one - breast cancer can happen to anyone.

Why I Wore Lipstick : To My Mastectomy

I really enjoyed the book. I also saw the movie which was really good. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2006 but I am doing great. I would recommend this book.

A Candid Account

Geralyn Lucas writes a thought provoking and candid account of her Cancer experience. She addresses topics that are not addressed in most other accounts - beauty, sexuality, familial tensions. I found the book to be fresh and exciting. Good for her, she wrote what a lot of young cancer patients need to hear.

I Had No Idea

I picked up my wife's book, not knowing what it was about. With the title and photo I assumed it to be about dating. As I began reading it became clear to me that this lady was in big trouble. My mother was in her late forties when she discovered a lump in her left breast. A general practitioner told her she had cancer and must immediately have the breast removed. This was in the sixties. He hacked off her breast and sewed it up in a most crude manner, leaving a hideous scar. I knew what she went through was no picnic, but until reading "Why I wore Lipstick," I had no idea the depths of her despair and suffering. In the eighties my sister was found to have cancer, and both breasts were removed and then reconstructed. Again, no idea of what she was going through. Last year my mother again developed cancer, this time in her right breast. She was 85 years old and suffering from dementia. With the help of my loving wife and hospice we nursed her in my home until her death. Geralyn's story took me into the physical and psychological depths of her experience. She shared her feelings in a way that I never could have imagined. Her story also gave me insight into the media world. I always assume that those who make it to the top tend to lack compassion and kindness. I am grateful for her helping me to become more sensitive to the afflicted, and for helping dispel my prejudice toward those in high places. Humility, humor, openness. What an experience!

I'D GIVE IT 6 STARS IF I COULD!!!

Ms. Lucas manages to convey the roller coaster ride which is diagnosing, treating, and surviving breast cancer with unique wit, intelligence,honesty and humor. She has bared her soul as well as her breast, and imparts important information along the way. This is a must read for anyone who has breast cancer, who had breast cancer, who had a relative or friend with breast cancer, or who fears getting breast cancer which is to say, ALL OF US. It is also a primer for doctors as to how to approach patients. Just being smart isn't enough, as Ms. Lucas makes crystal clear. Although the main focus of the book is breast cancer, I think it has useful information for all current or former cancer patients , their families and friends, and their caregivers. Don't miss this one! Jane A.