Book Review: Stand by Her

‘Stand by Her: A Breast Cancer Guide for Men’ is a book by one brave man for other men who are witnessing their loved one fighting breast cancer and how to support them. These men can be their husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, friends, and coworkers.

Written by John Anderson who has helped his mother, wife, sister and a close friend in their battle against breast cancer, this book is personal and as real as it gets. Each section is a stage in that journey, with its own unique color that symbolizes the feelings these men are facing and will face. It does not try to be everything to everyone and is not filled with technical, scientific or medical terms. It is human. This book is undoubtedly a useful resource for the men out there who are coming out of shock or denial and wanted to know what they can be doing.

As a woman, I encourage all men to be real and get support for themselves.

As a sexologist, I was disappointed it did not cover anything about how cancer impacted sexuality and what tips the author had for men.

As a daughter to a mother who has stage 4 breast cancer, I support more conversations about our breasts and breast cancer. Let it start with me.