Cancer Is a Bitch

And with every ounce of good mothering common sense I can muster, I scrub nonexistent gook off the kitchen sink with S.O.S. pads until my arm cramps, my knuckles bleed, and my warped reflection glares back at me, because I’m the mother. I’m doing what needs to be done! Nothing has changed, and when Alex says he’d like a bowling party for his birthday in April, I smile and nod, smile and nod, smileandnodsmileandnodsmileandnod, picture him with a bald mother, a breastless mother, without a mother, and all to the floor and weep.

A short time after finishing writing a novel about a woman who finds a lump in her breast, author Gail Konop Baker goes for a routine mammogram and is in for a shock. Cancer Is a Bitch (or, I’d Rather Be Having a Midlife Crisis) is a memoir of what life is like after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Written with brutal honesty as well as a little bit of wicked humor, Cancer is a Bitch was an interesting book to read. 

Having been spared going through chemotherapy since her cancer wasn’t in her lymph nodes, Konop Baker still needed to juggle her emotions of having been diagnosed with breast cancer, worrying about a recurrence and how to live her life now as a cancer survivor. Written with humor, Cancer is a Bitch isn’t a depressing read, but a tell-all of how the author personally handled her life after her diagnosis.  

I first read about Cancer is a Bitch over at S. Krishnas Book Blog and was intrigued by her review. As I read Cancer is a Bitch, I found myself dog-earing many a page, since the author nailed some of my own feelings (having been diagnosed with breast cancer myself) so well I figured that one day I may want to go back and re-read some of those passages. There were a few slow parts in the book but for the most part it was an enjoyable and ultimately helpful read. It’s nice to know that I am not alone and it was fun to read a memoir by such a feisty lady.

You know what else is cool? Since November 25th, a portion of the proceeds from Cancer is a Bitch will be donated by the author to a breast cancer organization that funds mammograms for all. In fact, for every book bought in the next two weeks (starting 11/25) she will double the donation. Just visit her blog and let her know that you have ordered or bought her book and she will take your word for it!

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