I'd Rather Do Chemo Than Clean Out the Garage

Book excerpt: An inspiring and witty memoir by a woman battling cancer—with laughter. Fran Di Giacomo made it through one case of cancer at forty—then got hit with a worse case in her fifties. Tired of the somber, weepy books she kept getting from well-meaning friends, she stumbled upon a book that made her laugh out loud—and realized that was what she’d been missing. Laughter felt good—and that was how she wanted to feel. Inspired, she wrote this unique memoir, an unsentimental, sharply funny take on her experience—including her favorite techniques for shamelessly exploiting the chemo lifestyle. She reveals the way that indulging her sense of humor not only kept her sane during the hardest moments, but also allowed her to continue her successful career as an artist, even through thirteen hospitalizations, ten surgeries, and constant chemotherapy. Her book is terrifically entertaining—as her oncologist warns in the foreword, you should avoid reading it in the immediate postoperative period due to the risk of popping a suture. It can also help other cancer patients, or anyone dealing with hardship, to cultivate a zesty enthusiasm for life and empower themselves to keep fighting.