The true-life graphic novel, Cancer Vixen, could very well be the first profitable venture into what the New York Times described as “Sick Chick Lit.” The elements are all there: likeable heroine, love-life woes, career crisis and the meddling (s)mother. But, the newest twist on the Bridget Jones terrain is life-threatening disease. Our Cancer Vixen, (in the form of New York City cartoonist Marisa Acocella Marchetto) defiantly walks into chemo sessions wearing sexy Cesare Paciotti shoes. “Cancer, I am going to kick your butt… and I’m going to do it in killer 5-inch heels!” is her rallying cry.

From the first few pages, you realize this isn’t going to be your grandmother’s weepy “woe is me” sob story. It turns out when you “make it to the big leagues”—which in Acocella Marchetto’s case is working for the New Yorker and Glamour—your life is more Sex and the City less Caroline in the City. In fact, before cancer came on board, her self-confessed shallow days were filled with swanky publishing parties, free meals at expensive restaurants and front-row seats at fashion shows. It's while chasing a story on how the "it girls" become so fabulously “it” that 9/11 happens and brings her champagne kisses life to an abrupt stop. Standing in the streets of New York, covered in the now eerily familiar white cloud dust, Acocella Marchetto literally draws some of the most poignant scenes in the book. Could her cancer be connected to the terrorist attack? Its one of many possible hypotheses she’s not afraid to put out there.

With humour and confidence she details her journey through therapy (opting for the “lighter” chemo so she can keep her hair) and spiritual awakening (she goes through 2 kabbalah rabbis while wearing the cord of St. Philomena). And, through it all is Silvano, her Ferrari-driving, well-to-do restaurateur fidanzato (“fiancé is so French and he is so Italian”). If his insurance hadn’t kicked in, she may not have had the money to pay for the costly treatments, which she tallies up to about $200 Gs. At 43 and working as a freelancer, Acocella Marchetto’s own insurance expired just before she was diagnosed. Even more than just a frank discussion on breast cancer, Cancer Vixen is also a precautionary tale on the perils of getting caught up in the overindulgent, fashionista, city-girl existence that has permeated popular culture. Even Carrie Bradshaw herself once said “I’ve spent $40,000 on shoes and I have no place to live? I will literally be the old woman who lived in her shoes!”

However, we know Acocella Marchetto beats cancer (or we wouldn’t be reading her book) and we know she marries her Italian Stallion (hence the double-barrelled last name). And, it’s already been optioned for a movie with Cate Blanchett pegged to star. But, as fabulous as it is, there’s still that odd feeling about making light of something as serious as cancer. The book is a fun, enlightening read, but a little too glib for those who are still battling the disease or the loved ones still supporting them.

Other graphic novels about cancer:

Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person: A Memoir in Comics by Miriam Engelberg
Mom’s Cancer by Brian Fries
Our Cancer Year by Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner, Illustrated by Frank Stack