A review of Woman Cancer Sex
For more than ten years I’ve been looking for a book on sex for women
who have cancer, and for ten years I’ve mostly drawn blanks. So it was
with trepidation that I started to read Anne Katz’ latest effort
“Women, Cancer, Sex.”
Given all that I’ve read on the subject and how disappointed I’ve
been, I felt a reality check was in order after I finished the book.
So I quietly handed “Women, Cancer, Sex” to my wife. She’s an attorney
and will usually tell me within the first fifteen minutes “Really
boring!” or “It should have been a 5-page article and not a book.” So
I was particularly surprised when she called me immediately after she
finished this 184-page book and said “This is incredible! Best book
you’ve had me read in a long, long time. I hope you will strongly
recommend this to women AND to their partners.”
Some of the things we both liked about the Katz book is that it is
interesting, it flows well and it presents a great deal of information
without overwhelming you. You feel a part of what’s going on and the
author helps you understand the various issues and how to cope with
them. From offering help in how you might talk to people about your
cancer to when you might tell a new partner about your situation–this
book is invaluable. And good luck finding another resource that so
clearly helps a sexual partner to understand the emotional scars that
the various treatments can leave behind.
This is the perfect book for healthcare providers as well. I can’t
strongly enough recommend that you keep the book in an obvious place.
Even if a patient never talks to you about sex, seeing the book in
your office will give them permission to go home and order it from
Amazon.
The only criticism that both my wife and I had about the book was the
way the publisher did the “Dr. Katz Explains” text boxes. However, the
book’s many strengths more than overbalance this annoyance. If books
were to get grades, this one would earn an A or an A+, and I’m not an
easy grader.
Paul Joannides, Psy.D.
author: “Guide To Getting It On”
winner AASECT Book Award for 2009
