Blogger Jen Creer recently shared with us that Funky Winkerbean creator Tom Batiuk is weaving a breast cancer storyline into his comic strip. It seems he's not alone in his creative endeavor. The website MyBreastCancerNetwork is also pairing cancer and comics -- but with a twist. These strips are personal. You get to be the subject. Just tell your story -- you can be the patient, the survivor, the loved one -- and illustrator Dash Shaw will craft your journey into a breast cancer comic strip to be featured on this site.
PJ Hamel, MyBreastCancerNetwork expert patient and author, was the first to have her story documented in this fashion, five years after she did battle with the disease. Here's just one excerpt of her journey, as told in her words and Shaw's illustrations.
Stamina, Neuropathy and My FeetMy feet were a painful reminder of the neuropathy that sometimes follows chemo. And I seemed to have lost every bit of stamina I'd ever had; 30 minutes on the treadmill left me sweating and panting, where before I'd scarcely noticed my legs were moving. Oh well, I thought; time heals. I have to be patient.
A year later, I felt better, but not nearly as good as I'd hoped. Gradually, through regular trips to the gym, my stamina was improving. I hadn't yet worked up to the heavy weights I'd been lifting before cancer, but month by month, I was lifting a bit more. My feet still hurt; and every morning I'd find myself raked with scratch marks, evidence of an itch in my chest that just wouldn't quit. My shoulder was getting worse, as I put off dealing with the ache. OK, I thought; give it time. Be patient.
Make a stop here for more of Hamel's comic strip -- and for more information about submitting your own story.
