With the release of Previvors just weeks away, a lot of people have been asking me, “So Dina, where did you come up with the idea for this book?” My answer: I didn’t. Three years ago, I was approached by five women living in my community. Knowing that I was a health writer for national magazines, they asked me to write a book for them. They said that they were previvors and that they had all taken steps to lower their risk for breast cancer (and, in one of their cases, ovarian cancer). However, while they had each other to lean on and an organization called FORCE while they dealt with their risk, they didn’t have that one quintessential guidebook that could have helped them through the myriad of emotional and physical issues they faced. That’s why they decided they needed to share their stories with other previvors by creating a book. They needed a professional writer to help them do that, and luckily they decided that person was me.  

So, the plan was that I would write this book, telling the stories of Lisa, Mayde, Amy, Rori, and Suzanne. But we quickly realized that telling the personal stories was only half the picture. A woman first facing her breast cancer risk needs the facts, not only the emotional, relatable accounts. So I went on to interview more than 70 leading medical experts to create a true guide for previvors, and I interwove the five personal stories throughout the book to bring each detail to life.

I have to say, I am so grateful that Lisa Marton, Mayde Wiener, Amy Rosenthal, Rori Clark, and Suzanne Citere asked me to write this book for them. It’s not easy to to come up with an idea for a book that’s completely unique. But, in this case, they truly found a market that was virtually untapped. The whole concept of previvors is such a new one that there are only a couple of other books for this demographic (compared to the hundreds upon hundreds of books available for women actually battling breast cancer).

Thank you Lisa, Mayde, Amy, Rori, and Suzanne for this incredible opportunity. Congratulations to you for giving so many women an invaluable resource—a resource that I only wish you could have had years ago.