The Boudica Within

With photographs by Andrea O’Hare, The Boudica Within (The Erskine Press, £14.99) is the work of NNUH plastic surgeon Elaine Sassoon, who paid tribute to her patients’ “fortitude, resilience and sense of humour”. 

 

“I observed their change from victims to extraordinary women who discovered inner strengths they never knew they possessed,” said Miss Sassoon. “I felt privileged to witness this transformation and wanted to celebrate it.”

 

One of the patients whose story is told in the book is 35-year-old Emma Hurley, who says: “Baring all for the photoshoot is something I thought I would never do in a million years but I felt it was important to give a young woman’s perspective. In fact I found the experience quite liberating. Of course, breast reconstruction can’t cure my illness but taking care of how I look and feel is half the battle.”

 

Profits from the book are being split between breast cancer charities and the Blakeney Housing Trust. Free copies are being made available to hospitals in the UK and abroad with the help of funding from Mentor Medical Systems. If you would like to order a copy, please visit www.boudicawithin.com