Want to blog but worried about the intricacies of building a website? Have no fear, “Blog for a Cure – Cancer Sucks” is waiting for you.

I just found this site and it’s just for cancer victims. Actually, it’s for every kind of cancer victim as you can post your own blog under the type of cancer you have. And, depressingly, there’s a whole lotta cancers out there.

These two sentences from the website are all you need to know:

“The Blog for the Cure was started by Jill who was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2005. The idea came to her during her treatment and the site was launched in August, 2006.

The mission of Blog for a Cure is to make life a little bit easier for cancer survivors by providing a free personal web publishing service for them and continuing to develop and upgrade this service to be the best it can be for its users.”

Interested? Here’s a link:http://www.blogforacure.com/

More Witty and Bitingly Sarcastic Cancer Blogs

Yes, brain tumor and brain cancer blogs have witty, bitingly sarcastic names and content, but what about other forms of cancer? Do their blogs have any humor? Any bubbling anger? Any of that “Damn the torpedoes full speed ahead” esprit de corps?

Well, yeah!.

Miss Melanoma - http://missmelanoma.blogspot.com/ She’s full of honesty, opinions and insights. She also has links to some T-shirts I like. Miss Melanoma is great name - I would start a Mister Melanoma blog, but I’m afraid of copyright infringement.

Mommy’s Kicking Cancer’s Ass - http://krm0507.blogspot.com/.As a former Detroiter, I recognize her attitude and love it. 

And how can you not love a blog entitled “Radioactive Girl”? http://radioactive-girl.blogspot.com/ I especially like her subtitle – “I am no longer radioactive…but I’m still hot”

As an ode to my Mother who had breast cancer last year, “Afrochemo – My search for the perfect afro wig while undergoing breast cancer treatment” http://afrochemo.blogspot.com/2011/09/5-things-not-to-say-to-cancer-patient.html I especially like her 9/13/11 blog entitled “5 Things Not to say to a cancer patient”.

I stumbled upon “The Accidental Amazon” - http://accidentalamazon.com/blog/ - and found a blogger who was “not feeling particularly sanguine, philosophical, grateful, brave, accepting, noble, etcetera and so forth, about facing 2012…”.  If you go there, be sure to read the “Grumblers for the Cure” page - http://accidentalamazon.com/blog/2011/11/05/grumblers-for-the-cure/

Cancer Vixen Book Review

I just read Cancer Vixen by Marisa Acocella Marchetto.  Why? Because…

1.    The idea of a graphic novel about cancer seemed intriguing, e.g. would the “cartoony” format trivialize the situation?

2.    I wanted to know if it would seem similar or derivative of Suzy Becker’s wonderful “I Had Brain Surgery, What’s Your Excuse?”

3.    I wondered how would cancer change somebody who has a “vixen” self-image?

So what’s the Cancer Vixen all about?  The book tells the multilayer story of Ms. Marchetto, a nationally known cartoonist (New Yorker, Modern Bride, etc.) and avowed fashionista, who learns that she has breast cancer. The ensuing treatments, including chemo and radiation, are debilitating and, financial insult to cancer injury, she doesn’t have medical insurance.  If that wasn’t enough, her heavy cancer story is unfolding at the same time as a serious romance is budding.

So, what did I like about the book?

-The cartoons were terrific!  They were not only great story-telling devices; they helped express the depth of her emotions – from terror to rage to self-pity and beyond (and they didn’t remind me of Suzy Becker’s work).

-Her self-reflection, which resulted in her writing that “how can I love myself when I’ve been a narcissistic fashionista who put her priorities in all the wrong things?”

-She draws the scary chemo equipment including needles, mediports and chemo bay.

What didn’t I like about it?  Small things – the name dropping…I can’t think of anything else.

I am also impressed that she started the Cancer Vixen fund for uninsured victims of breast cancer.  Here’s a link to the YouTube video  about it - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8XjRWNjh64  - and the website for the fund - http://marisamarchetto.com/blog/?page_id=13