Product Description

“What happens when a shoe-crazy, lipstick-obsessed, wine-swilling, pasta-slurping, fashion-fanatic, single-forever, about-to-get-married big-city girl cartoonist with a fabulous life finds . . . a lump in her breast?” That’s the question that sets this powerful, funny, and poignant graphic memoir in motion. In vivid color and with a taboo-breaking sense of humor, Marisa Acocella Marchetto tells the story of her eleven-month, ultimately triumphant bout with breast cancer—from diagnosis to cure, and every challenging step in between.

But Cancer Vixen is about more than surviving an illness. It is a portrait of one woman’s supercharged life in Manhattan, and a wonderful love story. Marisa, self-described “terminal bachelorette,” meets her Prince Charming in Silvano, owner of the chic downtown restaurant Da Silvano. Three weeks before their wedding, she receives her diagnosis. She wonders: How will he react to this news? How will my world change? Will I even survive? And . . . what about my hair?

From raucous New Yorker staff lunches and the star-studded crowd at Silvano’s restaurant to the rainbow pumps Marisa wears to chemotherapy, Cancer Vixen is a total original. Marisa’s wit and courage are an inspiration—she’s a cancer vixen, not its victim.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #80258 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-26
• Released on: 2006-09-26
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Amazon.com
Cartoonist Marisa Acocella Marchetto's graphic memoir about her battle with breast cancer is as bold, vibrant, and brave as she is--pumped full of color, the story leaps off the page and into your heart. Poignant and funny, this inspiring story is made all the more powerful by Marchetto's cartoons. Lucky for us, Marchetto agreed to create a cartoon just for Amazon.com customers. Check out her strip below. --Daphne Durham

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Amazon.com Exclusive: A Cartoon from Marisa Acocella Marchetto

Meet Marisa, a self-described "shoe-crazy, lipstick-obsessed, wine-swilling, pasta-slurping, fashion-fanatic, single-forever, about-to-get-married big-city girl cartoonist with a fabulous life." Her graphic memoir, Cancer Vixen describes what happens when she finds a lump in her breast. Want to know what happens to an author when they discover their sales rank at Amazon.com? Read Marisa's exclusive strip below to find out.

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From Publishers Weekly
In 2004, cartoonist Marchetto, a hyperstylish "terminal bachelorette," was busy capturing "fabulista" humor, in the New Yorker and Glamour. She was engaged to a fabulous guy, perennially cool restaurateur Silvano Marchetto, whose personal style perfectly matched her Manhattan-centric life. If this were fiction, this is exactly when she'd stumble; unfortunately for her, life imitated art, and sure enough, she found a lump in her breast shortly before her wedding. Just as bad, she didn't have health insurance: her policy had lapsed shortly before the fateful mammogram. Cancer Vixen tells the story of what happens next, and how her inner circle— stylists, gossip columnists, shoe designers and assorted others you'd only find in New York City, rallies round to help her beat the disease and get married on time and in high style. Marchetto wears her best high heels to chemotherapy and remarks on the similarities between her hospital gown and Diane von Furstenberg designs. The fashion details are great fun, drawn in a spare loose style, but it's the heart of her story, the support and love she gets from her family and friends, that make Cancer Vixen a universal story that's hard to put down. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
“There’s emotion, fear and vulnerability in [Cancer Vixen]. Plus almost a step-by-step guide to cancer diagnosis, surgery and treatment. But above all, for any cancer patient male or female, there’s hope and optimism.”
–Terry England, Santa Fe New Mexican

“Marisa Acocella Marchetto had the last laugh on her cancer. The New York-based cartoonist turned the disease on its head, by transforming her own battle with breast cancer into a big fat comic book, Cancer Vixen. The emphasis is on ‘comic’ . . . Marchetto’s goal was not, of course, to make light of or diminish the severity of the disease or her own condition, but to bring her seemingly boundless spirit into the healing process. It worked. Not only is her cancer in remission, but Cancer Vixen has become a publishing hit . . . This is triply good because she’s donating part of the proceeds from the book to breast care for underprivileged women.”
–Alan Bisbort, Republican-American

“Your remarkable book illustrates how the power of humor can transform a serious life event into an opportunity for personal growth as well as preservation of health. And it is just plain funny too: Congratulations on a terrific work of art that is as wise as it is witty. I will be recommending it widely.”
–Dr. Larry Norton, Chair of Clinical Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

“One of the powerful revelations of Cancer Vixen is [that] cancer isn’t just an individual diagnosis; it has a social dimension that can affect patients as much as the therapies they choose . . . Marchetto gives us a vibrant, neon chronicle of her fears, her search for understanding and her efforts to cope with a diagnosis that arrives as she’s planning her wedding. Oh, and there’s plenty of attitude . . . A triumph of imagination and spirit.”
–Nick Owchar, Los Angeles Times

“‘I didn’t just want to write about cancer,’ [Marchetto] says . . . What you realize, when you read the book, is that what she writes about, in the end, is life–which in some cases includes cancer–and it becomes the story of how one woman’s life was changed by her experience. [There are] wonderful visual images in the book [that] are funny and heartwarming and sad and lovely, and they make you think. In addition, the book functions as a documentary, providing an incredible amount of information to women who are facing a cancer diagnosis themselves . . . A remarkable blend of firsthand narrative and a cartoonist’s singular perspective that makes her form of storytelling unique . . . [There are] a slew of heartwarming and hysterically funny moments . . . The reader is truly transported into [Marchetto’s] world.”
–Diana Price, Women & Cancer

“[Marchetto] details the difficulties and indignities of her 11-month [breast cancer] treatment with a warmth and humor that makes it impossible to put the book down until you’ve finished the last, color-drenched, completely hysterical while simultaneously tear-jerking page . . . . The book is sweet and optimistic while never flinching from staring pain and fear directly in the eye . . . If you know someone dealing with breast cancer or are facing the disease yourself, you should absolutely give this brilliant, witty and beautiful book a try. [Marchetto’s] very personal and very human story will help you count your many blessings, one by one.”
–Mary Harvey, Rambles magazine

“If you have to fight for your life, why not do it in a fabulous pair of Charles Jordan blue metallic snakeskin Lucite pumps? Enter the world of Marisa Acocella Marchetto, a cartoonist and cancer survivor who chronicles her battle with the disease in a surprisingly irresistible graphic memoir about triumphing with style. From Page 1 of Cancer Vixen, you know you’re in for something different . . . [Marchetto offers] a vivid account–made only more powerful with her breathtakingly honest drawings–about getting the worst news of your life at the best time of your life . . . What ensues is a courageous, original take on Marchetto’s frightening, yet oftentimes hilarious–humor is the best medicine, right?–road to recovery, complete with colorful, attention-grabbing drawings . . . Marchetto’s book is like one of the fabulous late-night meals she and [husband, restaurateur Silvano Marchetto] share in the book: a delectable entrée of love and friendship . . . Friends and family rally in loving, if sometimes outrageous, ways. Add to that a tasty side dish–and I do mean dish–of the catty world of magazines and the ‘It’ people who live in it, and you end up with a satisfying taste of triumph when Marchetto finally kicks the cancer in (you guessed it) a fabulous pair of shoes . . . [An] absorbing and inspiring tale of a woman who knows how to do things–even fight cancer–in style. And who comes away with a better understanding of herself, her surroundings and the joy of slowing down just enough to enjoy life.”
–Helen Ubinas, The Hartford Courant

“The tone is Sex in the City in this memoir by New Yorker cartoonist Marisa Acocella Marchetto about her triumphant battle with breast cancer. Illustrated with wit and charm, fashionista Marchetto packs her story full of details about love, her mother, health insurance and shoes.”
–Elizabeth Taylor, Chicago Tribune (Editor’s Choice)

“Marchetto’s illustrated chronicle [of her battle with breast cancer] is as much about the support and love she received as it is about her fight against the disease. Cancer Vixen is definitely an encouragement tool for women who are waging the same battle.”
–Karen Grigsby Bates, npr.com

“My favorite medical memoir of the year was Cancer Vixen, a graphic novel by New Yorker cartoonist Marisa Acocella Marchetto. At 43, Marchetto is just three weeks shy of her wedding day when she finds a lump in her breast. Her cartoon self is sucked upside down into a black hole. Abnormal cells are illustrated as little green monsters sticking their tongues out and giving her the finger. She is terrified her fiancé will leave her. Marchetto chronicles her experiences with doctors, medical jargon, needles, chemo cocktails, and radiation with a directness and wit that struck me as wholly original. The illustrated format lightens the tone and creates a structure in which wry punch lines can proliferate without seeming glib. The book is most of all a love story, spiked with jealousy, tenderness, and great Italian cooking. It’s remarkably playful, but the passions and struggles are not cartoonish at all.”
–Amanda Schaffer, Slate

“This courageous memoir is painful, funny, self-deprecating, biting, and, yes, inspirational. Cancer Vixen is more than just another book about surviving a life-threatening illness. It is a well-defined portrait of an extremely accomplished woman who declares war on a tumor and sets out to beat it . . . If you have a friend who is facing or fighting cancer, do them a favor and get them a copy of this incredible book. It is highly recommended and might just be the extra help they need.”
–Larry Cox, Tucson Citizen (Grade: A)

“Marchetto limns her brush with cancer in a tale that is at heart a love story. Her romance with restaurateur Silvano Marchetto is a charming and touching part of the narrative, but the battle and eventual acceptance of some of the more unpleasant aspects of life is the real meat of the story. [Marchetto’s] personality, radiating from every page, is irresistibly authentic . . . [and] the author’s words and pictures convey humility and humanity with witty grace and heartfelt power.”
–The Miami Herald (Broward County Edition)

“Marchetto recounts her fight with breast cancer–the endless rounds of chemo, her nagging self-doubts, her dwindling energy–with a blend of humor and honesty. Best of all, the self-effacing Marchetto avoids being maudlin, focusing on how she uniquely coped during her treatment. Her engaging and colorful personality is a perfect match for the explosion of pastel panels she’s created in these pages. There’s a lot of truth, heart and laughs to her story. A perfect gift for the cancer survivor in your life.”
–Randy Myers, Contra Costa Times

“At 43 years old, Marchetto was three weeks away from marriage to the man of her dreams, her career as a cartoonist for Glamour and The New Yorker was on track–and, oh yeah, her health insurance had just expired–when she got the bad news: She had breast cancer. Her comic memoir details the many indignities of her treatment (the breast that turns blue from a needle puncture, the holistic doctor who treats her with corny music and a few of his own self-help books) and how her illness affected friends and family. Final word: Marchetto tackles the issues with humor and a big heart.”
–Rodney Price, Rocky Mountain News

“Even before its release, Marisa Acocella Marchetto’s Cancer Vixen was a huge hit in the blogosphere, generating a tsunami of buzz . . . What makes it work is the funny, disarming superheroine of the title–Marchetto herself, determined to be a Vixen and not a Victim, and living an ordinary life (considering that she is a cartoonist for the New Yorker and Glamour, as well as the now-wife of a food celebrity, Silvano Marchetto, who drives a Maserati and has published his own cookbook) and struggling with ordinary problems as she comes to grips with a potentially life-threatening disease. Among the central characters is the a...

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Customer Reviews

fantastichi!
I loved this book! Have been waiting for M.A. book since read "Who the hellis SHE anyway?!"
My mom survived ovarian Ca and also could appreciate this book. Saw her tear up and laugh all within a couple of pages. I work in Women's health and have shared this with many intrepid women and they say it has helped too.
Now want to try the restaurant...
Thank You M. A. M.!

Excellent and compelling. A love story and more.
This book is truly excellent. I laughed and I cried. If you enjoy comics, intelligent ones, this is a gem. Will Eisner in heels. A fantastic book. I loved this work.

A highly entertaining read!
I found this book incredibly entertaining ...simply a great read! It rocked my emotions from sadness, to laughter, to disbelief and made me feel extremely fortunate by the end. The cartoons are creative and oh, so humorous. The comedic relief was provided by Mom who could be my own. The story is a triumph over breast cancer and sends a powerful message to all women and families.A must-read, whether you are afflicted with breast cancer or not. You won't be able to put it down.
Barb