The Rough Road to Recovery

Options for therapy have multiplied, but making the right choices can be daunting for both doctors and patients

Colleen Fallscheer, a cheerful 40-year-old mother of two from Waterford, Mich., is living proof that breast-cancer therapy is not the horror show it used to be. A little over a year ago, a mammogram revealed a bright malignant spot, no more than 1.5 cm (about 0.6 in.) across, imbedded in the translucent tissue of her left breast. A surgeon recommended a mastectomy, to be followed by chemotherapy. Fallscheer was appalled. She sought a second opinion from David August, a surgical oncologist at the University of Michigan Medical Center, who told her that her tiny malignancy made her an ideal candidate for...

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