WHEN Cath Filby was told she had breast cancer, she admits to being “traumatised” by the diagnosis.

But almost more confusing was the mine of information in books and online she tried to wade through in a bid to better understand her condition.

Cath, who lives in Wimborne, said: “I was trying to understand my condition better but was faced with trying, often unsuccessfully, to decipher complicated medical jargon, conflicting suggestions regarding treatment options and their outcomes, and the prognosis for my particular type of cancer.

When Cath spoke to other women in her situation, she discovered she was not the only one experiencing difficulty in understanding the condition.

“They desperately needed and wanted helpful, straightforward information about how to improve their situation and to access it in one place,” she said.

Cath went on to undergo a bilateral mastectomy, followed by chemotherapy and breast reconstruction using the DIEP procedure, which involved transferring stomach tissue to create new breasts after her diagnosis in October 2007.

“I decided to document my journey through breast cancer, detailing how I structured my own recovery plan, in a memoir, and then to write a straightforward sequel to my journey, a self-help health guide, that would assist other women in taking back control of their lives and health at a time when they were about to reach their lowest ebb both mentally and physically,” she said.

The result is Breast Cancer: A Journey From Fear to Empowerment. It is a memoir/two-part practical guide showing women how motivating it is to take back control of their health.

The first section of the book, the memoir, details how Cath implemented her own health plan using complementary therapies alongside the orthodox treatment plan. Part two, due to be published mid-October, contains 13 individual slip cards detailing the steps required to aid recovery from breast cancer, and how to remain fit and healthy.

Cath, who is currently visiting breast cancer support organisations in the Perth area of western Australia while seeing her daughter, said: “There is so much information out there in so many places and it is so confusing.

“The many organisations, private and public, that are bombarding us with ways to conduct a healthy lifestyle often give contradictory information, which can be de-motivating.

“Despite all of this information, many women are still drowning in their own fear of either contracting the disease, seeing a loved one die from it or dying themselves, if they are sufferers, or fear it returning, if they have suffered in the past.

“The book will provide a very important tool for many breast cancer sufferers and their carers, families and friends.”

To order a copy of  Breast Cancer: A Journey From Fear to Empowerment, visit amazon.com from Monday, August 4.