Talbott, Lisa

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TALBOTT, Lisa

PERSONAL:

Female. Education: San Francisco State, B.S.; University of Washingtonm M.Ph.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Seattle, WA. Agent—c/o Author Mail, St. Martins Press, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Fitness trainer and women's rehabilitation expert. Cofounder of Team Survivor (national nonprofit organization aiding women cancer survivors), 1995; Cancer Lifeline, Seattle. WA, health promotions manager; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, consultant and support specialist.

WRITINGS:

(With Anne McTiernan and Julie Gralow) Breast Fitness: An Optimal Exercise and Health Plan for Reducing Your Risk of Breast Cancer, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2000.

SIDELIGHTS:

Lisa Talbott is a women's rehabilitation expert who has conducted research to prove that regular exercise reduces a woman's risk of developing breast cancer. Along with coauthors Anne McTiernan, a breast cancer specialist, and Julie Gralow, director of the University of Washington's Breast Cancer Genetics Clinics, Talbott published her findings in the book, Breast Fitness: An Optimal Exercise and Health Plan for Reducing Your Risk of Breast Cancer.

Talbott, McTiernan, and Gralow are not the first to make a connection between exercise and reduced cancer risk. Bette-Lee Fox in Library Journal noted that many books advise cutting calories and increasing exercise to reduce the risk of disease, "and this book is no different," explained the reviewer, "except that it specifically relates both concepts to the avoidance and recurrence of breast cancer."

According to Breast Fitness, a woman's weight plays a critical role in whether or not she develops breast cancer. If she does develop the disease, weight plays a significant role in recovery. The authors note that obese women are two times more likely to develop breast cancer than thin women, and overweight women are two times less likely to survive after diagnosis. The authors theorize that high-fat diets produce fat stores within the body. These fat stores raise hormone levels in the blood, which are related to tumor growth.

While critics in general praised the book, a reviewer in Publishers Weekly cautioned that "many of the authors' suggestions are based upon theories still undergoing testing (such as the idea that high estrogen levels increase breaks cancer risk)." However, the same reviewer added that the authors "clearly explicate their reasoning so readers can make educated guesses about how to prevent the disease."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, September 15, 2000, Bette-Lee Fox, review of Breast Fitness: An Optimal Exercise and Health Plan for Reducing Your Risk of Breast Cancer, p. 108.

Publishers Weekly, September 4, 2000, review of Breast Fitness, p. 104.