I was privileged to be able to interview Tom Batiuk himself, the creator of Funky Winkerbean, both about his own experiences with cancer and also his strip. I have received many many comments about the post I did regarding Lisa's cancer story in Funky Winkerbean, and I have addressed the concerns of the commenters to Mr. Batiuk, and he has responded for us here.

Jen: Obviously, you are a cancer survivor. Did you decide to have one of your characters have cancer largely to explore you own experiences further, to raise awareness about the experience of cancer, or did Lisa's cancer occur more organically? Or is there something else?

Tom Batiuk: There are so many conscious and unconscious elements in the creative process that sometimes it's impossible to untangle them all. My own experience showed me that there was still much more to be examined regarding this subject. This time when I reached inside, I was able to draw from the pieces of me that felt that scared, that angry and that powerless. The insights were deeper and more hard won. I also realized that revisiting Lisa's Story would push my characters to new extremes and reveal what kind of character my characters really had.

How many of us see our doctors at least once a year? (If you don't, you probably already know that you should... Preventive health care begins with you). I have to see my physician annually, or he won't refill my prescription, and I need my prescription. He says it is for insurance purposes, but I think he just likes to check in with me-- and I am fine with that. We go over my blood pressure, make arrangements to check my cholesterol. I take care of breast exams and my pap with my ob-gyn.

However, one of the things I have been thinking about this summer, as time grows near for my annual appointment, is that I don't always remember to mention things to him at this appointment. It has been a long time since I have seen or talked with my doctor. I just reached out and touched wood, automatically after I typed that. Knock on wood-- that could change on a dime. How many times have you walked out of an appointment, especially your annual, and thought, "I wish I had mentioned this..." Because sometimes it is worth just having things checked out, and making sure your physical exam is truly thorough.

Think about this: If you know your annual physican is drawing near, start carrying around a little notebook and recording changes you have noticed, or something that may seem minor, but might be worth mentioning.

This year, in my little notebook, I have: fatigue-- is this normal? I take a lot of naps... I seem to be developing an allergy to milk-- but could it be something else? That isn't a food reaction? Could you look at these spots on my face-- are these acne scars, or something else? I don't remember seeing them last year...

I have had a lot of friends who have gone to the doctor for what seemed to be pretty innocent symptoms-- and they had cancer instead. I think especially with the recent news about some pretty innocuous symptoms that could be forerunners for ovarian cancer, it's not too much to pay a little extra attention to what our bodies are trying to tell us. And then to tell our doctors, on our bodies' behalves.

My husband and I have a friend who was recently diagnosed with a sarcoma. I don't have more specific details about what kind of cancer it is, except that he went to the emergency room with groin pain and the doctors found a mass. Our friend is being treated at the Mayo Clinic, but he and his wife return on weekends, and we have dinners with our large extended family of friends, all together, every Friday night. We have been having these Friday night dinners for years now. We call them Friday Night Literary Society as many of the friends teach in the English department at the local university, or used to, as I did.

The point of these dinners, though, is to have fun. It is not to mention cancer, treatment, or anything else. Our friend doesn't want to talk about it, doesn't need the reminder. I'm sure it's never far from his thoughts. I sat next to his wife tonight, and she talked about how well he was responding to treatments, how he wasn't nauseaus from the chemo. The doctors say he will need surgery in August, and will probably have to have his right leg amputated. It's stark and horrible, and we are all affected by it.

Because we are a tight-knit bunch, we all talked among ourselves because we didn't want to ask the family too many questions, didn't know what they needed from us. We all wanted details, but we didn't know how to get them. The family wanted us to know details, but didn't really want to contact everyone individually. Fortunately, or unfortunately, we are a group who has known tragedy. Another friend died of cancer a few years ago. Yet another was covered yesterday in the Survivor Spotlight. There are more. So, the solution to the communication problem is this: Select a point man. Select one person who is responsible for updating everyone else on what is going on.

Think about this:

I have known my friend Claire for years (she asked that her last name not be used). So, I remember the shock I felt three years ago when I found out that she had breast cancer. Malignant breast cancer, we whispered to ourselves. Claire had been teaching English for Dole Fruit in Honduras. She came home that summer, and she never went back, even though she had another year left in her contract. Even though we have talked about her experiences over the years, we had never done so formally before she agreed to talk to me for this Survivor Spotlight. She came over and I poured her coffee (black) and we went out back to my studio/office to chat.

How did you find out you had breast cancer?

I went in for a routine mammogram. I had been having mammograms for about the past ten years or so. But I missed the previous year! So, after I found out that I had cancer, I was mortified that I had forgotten the previous year. But actually, I had a benign cyst years earlier, when I was younger and hadn't gone through as much. That was actually much scarier.

How did you find out it was malignant?

Needle biopsy. But I had warning -- the radiologist was pretty sure it was bad, so he gave me warning. The biopsy was just to make sure.

I also write for our sister blog, TVSquad. I review Desperate Housewives, when it's not in re-runs. At the end of the most recent season, one of the characters, Lynnette, played by Felicity Huffman, was diagnosed with what could be Hodgkin's Lymphoma or Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. They will play out her cancer in the fourth season of the show. At the season finale, she was about to begin chemotherapy.

I have been meaning to write about this here, because I think it's a brave and beautiful thing that both the show and the network are choosing a storyline that will be, with any luck, authentic, raw, emotional, and difficult. So, I was dismayed by this comment, by person called 'Spense:'

I'm sorry, but I have no interest in seeing Lynette diagnosed with cancer. It would not be great to see her fight through it, it would just be horribly depressing. Yes, felicity huffman is the actress who could pull it off, but the marriage problems are enough to deal with. It's bad enough that every day you hear of someone else getting cancer. It's just depressing, and to be honest i might stop watching if they do go through with it.

Funky Winkerbean creator Tom Batiuk has used his own experiences with prostate cancer to write cancer in to one of his characters' storylines. Lisa Moore, who was introduced to the more than thirty-year-old strip in the 1980's as a teen mother, has been battling breast cancer for more than seven years. In the strip's latest installment, her cancer has returned and is worsening.

Batiuk, who had surgery for prostate cancer last summer, realized that when he first introduced cancer in his strip he didn't have the depth of empathy that he has had this last time. He used Presidential candidate John Edwards' wife Elizabeth Edwards, her courage, and her refusal to let the cancer defeat her, as his model.

He said the strip was very hard to write, but he considers it his best work. I haven't followed the funnies for years, but this is the first instance that I can recall in which cancer has been portrayed as an ongoing storyline. It seems that breast cancer receives the most press these days (which, I believe, leads to more awareness of cancer in general), and I do wonder why he didn't address prostate cancer. But I can understand wanting to focus on one of the strip's main characters, and also, wanting to distance himself a bit from his own experience.

Has anybody been following this strip?

An artist recently discovered that her painting was voted on by other members of the art collective where she and her wife rent a studio. Her portrait of a breast cancer survivor was deemed by the other artists not to be "family friendly." Rhon's portrait is featured here.

As you will note, there is nothing lewd or pornographic about this portrait. The art show in Dallas, Texas, from which the portrait was removed featured other nudes. It is unfortunate that this portrait was removed.

I don't know all of the details, the focus of the show, nor the temperaments of all of the artists involved. I hope there were other reasons than the fear that parents might be afraid to show their children alternative views of the world, views of the world that might be frightening, but might also spark conversations about reality, about family members and friends, about prevention, and about compassion.

What do you think? Would this portrait offend you?

I have been posting over at our sister blog ParentDish for the past year. It has been almost exactly a year since I have posted here at The Cancer Blog, and so I probably need to re-introduce myself. I will be posting here again on a regular basis, and I am happy to be back!

I am not a cancer survivor, but I have lost people close to me who have had cancer, and another friend is having surgery at the Mayo Clinic soon to remove a mass he recently found in his groin area. One of my very dear friends works tirelessly year round in Wisconsin for her Relay team. And, I am a medical editor also.

It is the results of these experiences that gave me pause the other day when, for the first time in over a year, I realized that I needed to order new checks. I was looking at the online company where I bought my checks, and clicked on the link for activism. I didn't know (probably because I never bothered to look before) that you could order Checks for the Cure. Nine percent of the proceeds from purchasing the checks go to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. In the coming weeks. I will be focusing on the people, like my friend Keri, who work tirelessly to raise money to fight cancer. There are countless ways, besides purchasing checks, in which we can all make a difference. And I'm happy to do my part.

Hope Lives! Breast Cancer Support Center is a small, local center in Colorado which serves a local population of breast cancer patients. Mary Golden, executive director of the center, says that the center does not receive funding from the pink ribbon campaign. Rather, the campaign symbolizes hope for breast cancer survivors.

A lot of support, massage, hand-holding, and therapy goes into creating a breast cancer survivor. The women who come to the center talk about amputation, breast tattooing, nipple piercing, implants, nausea, drugs, and the fear of cancer coming back. The center offers yoga, healing touch, nutrition counseling, peer support, and a big sister program. What the center seems to offer the most of though is love. What a wonderful place for people facing such intense fear, such illness, such pain. If you are in Colorado and you have breast cancer, please call.

In Victoria, Canada, cervical cancer survivor Christine Evely is urging women to have pap tests twice a year. I have to admit that I haven't heard before that two pap tests per year are recommended. But as part of a Mother's Day initiative called Don't Just Sit There. Last year, the radio and ad campaign was a terrific success, with over 8000 extra pap tests completed. The ad campaign is being re-run this year with similar high hopes.

Cervical cancer can not only render women infertile, but it can also kill. A friend of mine from high school survived cervical cancer, and another friend of mine is currently dealing with an abnormal pap test. I had an abnormal pap test thirteen years ago, before I got pregnant with my first child. Since that time, I have only missed my pap test one year. It's a simple test, that can make a huge difference.

We are getting a facelift, massage, body mask, and complete spa package this weekend, so our comments will be closed!

So, don't worry, it's us, not you. You can get back to your normal, chatty selves on Monday!

 Have a great weekend! 

Frequent reader Trish Snyder emailed me today about this post on her blog. I have been swamped with other work deadlines and the flu, but I wanted to take a minute to tell you about this post. Deb is a single mother with Leukemia, who is trying to raise money to assist with the medical expenses related to having Leukemia and fighting it.

Deb is selling merchandise with her daughter Zoe's picture on it, such as the mug you see here. Why is Deb doing this to raise money? Because she can't work, due to her illness, and her disability insurance won't be effective for 180 days. That is six months. So, in the meantime, her deductibles are mounting, she isn't receiving a paycheck, and she has a child to feed.

So, if you are looking for a way to adopt a family or make a charitable contribution, this coffee mug would be a GREAT gift!

I was adopted as an infant, and my adoption records are sealed. So, naturally, every time somebody wants to take my medical history, I have to say, "Sorry. Does not apply." I have been thinking about that a lot because I have mentioned before on these blogs that I run, and that I think I am a good candidate for type 2 diabetes. I don't have any idea whether or not heart disease or various cancers are more likely to show up in me than not.

So, I wanted to ask our readers: Has knowing your family history been beneficial to you? Has it helped you to anticipate certain health problems? Or have your health problems pretty much come as a surprise anyway? Have you taken precautions due to family histories that you otherwise wouldn't have, such as with diet, with a family history of diabetes, or screenings for cancer?

Thank you, Trish, you are turning into a goldmine of information, and I appreciate your diligence in posting, and in your willingness to share. I also hope that we are providing you with enough good information to keep up! I wanted to give a shout out here to the blog that Daniel and Paula are keeping about his prostate cancer.

Paula writes that she worries what people will think of them sharing their very personal details on the blog. Well, I think it is marvelous, brave, and very helpful. Not hearing the hard, nitty gritty details doesn't help anyone. It certainly doesn't make them disappear. She also wrote a great post about gallows humor. I remember when my friend Linda had a double brainstem stroke and the doctors told us she was permanently locked in. The next few days were harrowing, but oh, how we laughed. We laughed at things a lot more than we probably would have if we weren't facing tragedy.

Have you found this to be true with your cancer experiences as well?

In ongoing clinical trials, Calgary, Canada, scientsts are injecting cancer patients with... the flu, of sorts. A virus is called Reovirus is injected intravenously into patients with tumors in the form of Reolysin. In trials already conducted in Great Britain, the virus sought out cancer cells, inserted itself into the cancer cells, and then began reproducing. Maybe I am over-simplifying what is occurring, but it sounds a lot like scientists have found a way to give cancer...cancer.

For more information about this research, you can go straight to the source. Preliminary results on human subjects showed stabilization of the tumors. Let me be the cautionary figure here: the number of subjects is extremely extremely small; it's really more pilot research that is promising than anything conclusive at this point. But for every little bit of good news, we are glad.