Power to the Pink

Cancer Vixen
by Marisa Acocella Marchetto

All right ladies, listen up, because this one’s for you. Normally I try to reserve my personal opinions until after I summarize the book, but this is different. This book performs the magical task of making you laugh, cry, think, and wonder, all at once. Not just about your body and the “what ifs” of breast cancer, but about your strengths as a woman. So read on, because I think Cancer Vixen is a book that should cross the hands of every woman.

Summary
Marisa Acocella Marchetto has such a cool life. She’s a cartoonist who lives in Manhattan, she’s engaged to an Italian restaurateur who feeds her delicious food every day, and she gets to do awesome research for her cartoons that often leads to free haircuts, meals, products, etc. And then one day, she finds a lump in her breast. It turns out to be cancerous, and Marchetto must dive headfirst into surgery, chemo, and radiation therapy. Luckily for us, she chronicles her experience the best way she knows how – in cartoons – and Cancer Vixen is her story. Her writing and illustrations are honest and fun, and she holds nothing back, a quality that makes for some hilarious and insightful statements and images.

Marchetto’s story is not unusually heroic or noteworthy, but her willingness to share her experience in so much detail is unique, and the knowledge and insights she presents will open the eyes any reader, male or female.

Worth staying up past bedtime?
Rating: Up ‘Till Dawn

I absolutely loved this book! The title immediately caught my attention, and the cover holds the image of a strong, fun, independent woman who I immediately wanted to get to know. Marchetto is honest and funny, and isn’t embarrassed to share the nitty gritty details that come with cancer treatment.

Perhaps one of the things that stuck with me most after reading Cancer Vixen was how much I learned about the ins and outs of cancer treatment. While cancer is a widely-discussed topic in current health news, this was the first time I had read such a personal story in such an accessible format. When I finished the last page, I was left with a dozen things to think about, and every time I’ve had the chance to talk about the book with people, I can’t stop raving. So go out and read it!

Recommended for any and all women, ages 14 and up. And the men in our lives could do with reading this, too, as it might give them a little insight into a highly important and personal topic we all need to be aware of!