The pop-up cancer book. WARNING – this post contains cancer jokes!

A few weeks back I was engaging in a little banter on Facebook. The topic was the book I hoped to write and one friend quipped that I should write a pop-up book. What a great idea, I thought! And my imagination took off. Perhaps I could make a pop-up book, with all the relevant anatomy, and the cancer inside. The cancer could be surrounded by perforations. Surgery would be made easy. All we’d have to do to remove the cancer would be to tear along the dotted line. How easy would that be! How cool!

But then my brain went a little wild. I could try out some broad spectrum radiotherapy by putting the book in the microwave. Or targeted radiation with a magnifying glass in the sun. Or maybe settle for chemo by soaking the book in vinegar every two or three weeks. Acupuncture could really let us use our imaginations. Rehab could involve opening and closing the page quickly to strengthen the muscles and limbs. We could even trial some new therapies not yet approved by the TGA!

It doesn’t hurt to laugh a little, even at my own expense. I’m not making light of cancer or the severity of the treatments. I’ve got a year and a half of personal experience now. I’m applying the Jewish principle – Jewish people are allowed to make Jewish jokes. Well I have cancer. It’s not funny. But it probably does me good to laugh at it now and then!