book review: one piece of advice

At 28 years old, I've already known of five women through social circles who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. We've just passed October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and it's a good time to reflect on how we can support those around us who have been affected by this disease. 

I was recently offered the opportunity to do a review of Yvonne Hughes' book, "One Piece of Advice: Words to guide you through early breast cancer", published with the support of the Prostate and Breast Cancer Foundation.

Yvonne Hughes, a 37-year-old mother of one who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011. Reeling from her diagnosis, she immediately looked for imformation on what to expect and some helpful advice. When she couldn't find what she was looking for, she was inspired to write her own book.

OPOA is a collection of short digestible nuggets of advice about breast cancer. It is full of practical information gathered from Yvonne's personal experiences and her conversations with other women, their families and health professionals.

Let me say this:

After reading through OPOA in record time (I couldn't put it down), I can highly recommend it to anyone who has recently had a diagnosis or is supporting a loved one through breast cancer. 

OPOA is beautifully designed and illustrated, filled with digestible bites of information and advice on managing each stage of early breast cancer. It is super practical and a very easy to read, informative without being overwhelming. But perhaps what I loved about it most was Yvonne's voice. Reading OPOA was like a warm hug from a close friend. 

OPOA is kind, comforting, relatable and most importantly, real. Yvonne collated the advice and wrote the book throughout her own cancer journey, and it feels as if you're taking the journey with her. She shares common experiences, questions and misconceptions without judgment. 

There's a section in the book especially for family and friends supporting loved ones through cancer. That said, if I were you, I'd read the whole book anyway! It provided invaluable insight into the breast cancer experience, including recovery from surgery, physical side affects of treatment as well as the grief and emotional experience of each part of the journey.

I have no qualms recommending One Piece of Advice. I just wish I lived in the same state as Yvonne so I could give her a giant 'thank you' hug! 

How to get OPOA:

One Piece of Advice is available for purchase at www.onepieceofadvice.com.au for the RRP AU $24.95 plus postage and handling.

10% of all profits go to Cancer Council NSW – who provided production and design support for One Piece of Advice – and other cancer charities.