And Then She Was Gone

Nationally recognized breast surgeon Robert B. Caplan, MD, watched his mother die of advanced breast cancer at a time when treatment options were limited.

Despite advances in treatment, Mrs. Caplan's likelihood of survival would be no better today. A medical environment that pushes the aggressive use of unnecessary chemotherapy, however, could well have prolonged her suffering.

Dr. Caplan finds this unacceptable. With little proof that chemo and radiation therapy are more effective than surgery alone, such treatments are commonplace, driving a multibillion-dollar industry at the expense of the women it purports to treat.

In And Then She Was Gone, Dr. Caplan describes the groundbreaking methods of early diagnosis and surgical treatment he spearheaded in the Breast Care Center of Portsmouth, Virginia, including replacing open surgical biopsies with stereotactic and ultrasound-guided needle biopsies to diagnose breast cancer in its earliest stages.

Historically, health care in the United States has failed women with fragmented and substandard treatments. Dr. Caplan has fought his entire life against this broken system. And Then She Was Gone will leave you angered-but with hope for the future.