Val Sampson is a freelance journalist who has written for a wide range of newspapers ranging from The People to The Guardian and The Times, as well a numerous women's magazines including She, Woman, Woman's Own, Best, Woman's Weekly and You. She has had breast cancer twice in the last five years. She leads a seminar on Language and the Concept of Cancer for nurses at the Institute of Cancer Research. Debbie Fenlon was Val Sampson's breast care nurse when she was first diagnosed. She is now an oncology lecturer with the Institute of Cancer Research in association with the Royal Marsden NHS Trust. The foreword is by Ian Smith, Professor of Cancer Medicine, Medical Director, Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research.