With a title like "B.O.O.B.S.," you might expect a book about breast cancer to be - well- revealing. It is that, and much more.

This Bunch of Outrageous Breast Cancer Survivors share their fight with breast cancer, from diagnosis, through treatment and beyond, with honesty, emotion, humor and the kind of nitty-gritty details you won't find in any medical manual.

Robin McIlvain remembers clearly how the idea for a book came about.

"We were sitting in our breast cancer support group listening to each others' stories and suddenly realized what a diverse group of women we were," she said. "We were different ages and colors and came from different religious, ethnic, economic and career backgrounds, yet we were all connected to each other because of breast cancer - and what a strong bond that was."

McIlvain, like many breast cancer patients, had found compassionate support, healing and friendship through The Wellness Community-Atlanta (affiliated with Northside Hospital), which offers free services and guidance to cancer patients and their families.

"Our vision for this book was so clear. We weren't clinicians, celebrities or writers, just ordinary women struggling to survive," she said. They knew that by telling their own stories in their own voices they had helped each other through treatment and recovery, and that they could help others as well.

"We wanted to share what breast cancer was like for ordinary women, to raise awareness about The Wellness Community and to give something back for all the support we'd had," McIlvain added. A part of the royalties from "B.O.O.B.S." goes to The Wellness Community and a part goes to breast cancer research.

McIlvain, who has had many different illnesses and surgeries in her life, wrote, "If I were a horse, I would have been shot a lot time ago!" But she was still a "cockeyed optimist," believing that the book would be published.

"It wasn't an easy process," said Elena Tillan Santamaria, another survivor/author. "Not everyone could write their stories. It was too painful to relive it all over again for some. There were times I had to stop and cry because it was so difficult, but I knew that it would help other women and their caregivers, and I wanted physicians to know the other side of breast cancer."

Each chapter starts with a statistical profile of each woman's cancer and treatment, but what follows are 10 individual accounts of the pain of procedures, the frustration of waiting for results, the confusion of medical terminology and the stress of making choices. As one support group member described it, "The learning curve for cancer is straight up."

Along the way, faith, friendship and good advice are served up in healthy doses.

"Cancer changed me," Santamaria said. "I was shy and never outgoing, but what really helps me is to help alleviate the pain of other women who have been diagnosed."

She's learned to meditate and tried art therapy and yoga classes with her fellow survivors. Santamaria lectures about breast health and was nominated to testify at the annual U.S. Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research meeting in Washington. She has been promoted from lead patient advocate to Supervisor of Patient Relations at Northside Hospital.

"When you're going through treatment you wonder if you'll ever smile again, ever have the energy to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for your family," she said. "Other patients tell me that it helps them to see me looking healthy and working. It gives them hope that their lives won't always revolve around doctors and tests."

Since publication, the group has been in demand for book signings and talks around the country.

"People are buying our book to give to friends who have cancer, and we're getting good feedback from the medical community," McIlvain said. "We're proud and pleased to be accomplishing our mission, but once the hoopla is all over, we'll still be ordinary people, living day to day."

One author, Sheryl Siegel, died soon after the book was printed.

"She got to hold the book in her hands and know that her legacy would live on," McIlvain said. "We are all blessed to have each other. There's such a strong bond of understanding and support among survivors - that's what 'B.O.O.B.S.' is all about."

To contact The Wellness Community, call 404-843-1880.