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I heard about Kate through a dream I had talking with a person of color and he told me to pull up her Breast Cancer Support Online | Breast Cancer Social Network – MyBCTeam MyBreastCancerTeam through the internet, which is a social network specifically for women facing breast cancer. Through the network, she shares cartoons that reflect life through the lens of someone who’s made it to the other side of breast cancer, yet is still living with the fear of recurrence.
Finding Humor Through Cancer
By Kate Matthews and Mary Ray,
Diagnosed in 2010 with breast cancer, Kate Matthews learned that she not only had breast cancer but bilateral disease, which led to a double mastectomy with reconstruction and chemotherapy. Kate coped by fighting back with humor to laugh herself well. She is married with four children and has self-published two books of her cartoons.
What’s so funny about cancer?“
Not one damn thing, really,” says Kate Matthews, a breast cancer survivor and cartoonist, “but whenever I need to feel lifted away from the fear, horror and pain of breast cancer, humor is the first place I turn.”
People ask, ‘How can you possibly joke about this?’
My answer is that the more severe the cancer, the more you need to joke about it.
After my diagnosis, and before my surgery, I was in a bad place mentally, dealing with wigs, hair loss, and chemo… all the stuff that might happen. I had started journaling, but when I re-read what I wrote, it seemed so dark, bitter and toxic. That’s when she drew her first cartoon of a woman seated in a chair at a wig shop.
Her humor is not lost among the 2,300 women facing breast cancer on MyBreastCancerTeam, where she frequently shares her cartoons. She envisions a ‘humor for cancer’ movement that helps make patients laugh. Just laugh.
For Kate and many of those impacted by breast cancer, modesty falls by the wayside, so it’s rare that anything offends her. Yet she recognizes this isn’t the case for everyone, all the time.
“Sometimes as patients we’re a little touchy, but I’ve received positive and warm responses from other women, so I try to post a cartoon a day on MyBreastCancerTeam and Facebook.”
The key for her was that the expression of her humor had to be fast. Express the idea and move on, whether due to chemo fatigue or soreness post-surgery.
Kate has also seen inspiration in Tig Notaro, the comedian who made headlines recently with her legendary standup act announcing she had cancer. Kate says, “I really admire her for just getting up there and saying some of those things. The thing about God [reference to Tig’s joke about God only giving you what you can handle] was a similar feeling I had. I actually opened up my book with a cartoon showing God and his angels up in Heaven plotting to add some more nasty things into a cancer victim’s life.
As she finished treatment, she realized she had a folder of cartoons, which she eventually compiled and put into a book, The Little Pink Book of (mostly) Cancer Cartoons: Matthews, Kate: 9781470179168: Amazon.com: Books
The Little Pink Book of (mostly) Cancer Cartoons. “They still seem funny to me, and even though some of it was dark, I didn’t eliminate the dark stuff.”
Today, Kate is working on a second collection Cartooning against Cancer “I’m starting to broaden the humor of my cartoons to be ironic and universal, and not just focused on breast cancer. Women’s lives, even in treatment, are about many other things. So I broaden some of the topics.”
Her advice to anyone going through cancer: “Try to find the humor in any situation. I remember standing in a room naked with eight male doctors (some interns) standing around grabbing at my stomach to see if I had enough flesh for reconstructive surgery.” As awkward as it was, Kate says it was equally hilarious. “Personally, I think it’s important to find humor in any situation. Opening up to things that might be amusing or beautiful helps work your way out of the dark places. I have this vision of people being in a room laughing hysterically.”
SAN FRANCISCO – September 18, 2012 – MyHealthTeams today announced the launch of MyBreastCancerTeam (MyBCTeam), a social network for women facing breast cancer. MyBCTeam is open to women recently diagnosed with breast cancer, those currently in treatment, and even those women 15 years out from treatment. In addition to online, MyBCTeam is available on iOS and Android devices. MyBCTeam enables women to find others just like them, share experiences, tips and referrals and make real, lasting connections with other women who have been in their shoes. MyBCTeam also gives women the opportunity to share information and provide recommendations on providers and other resources they have found helpful.
One out of every eight women in the U.S. will develop breast cancer and many of the women that are diagnosed feel alone and overwhelmed as they try to find the support, providers and services they need. In particular, they are frustrated by how difficult it is to find and compare notes with women just like them. MyBCTeam is a unique social network in that women can search and connect with other women who have the exact type and stage of breast cancer, are the same age and even live in the same city. It is designed so they can build real relationships quickly and share information with people who truly understand and can relate to them.
“When a woman faces breast cancer, one of the most important resources she can have during this time is a network of real, personal connections with other women who are going through, or have been through, the same thing,” said Mary Ray, Co-founder of MyBreastCancerTeam. “MyBCTeam provides a safe and welcoming environment where women can share their personal stories and daily ups and downs during and after treatment. Oftentimes, only other women who have been in the same situation will truly understand the range of emotions – the anxiety, fatigue and self-image issues – that breast cancer can surface. Women can also share the providers they’ve found most useful – from oncologists to wig shops, treatment details and even specific tips like what drinks help with the short-term after-effects of chemotherapy on taste buds.”
MyBCTeam is about sharing and connecting on a very personal level, so women really get to know one another. Many communities and discussion forums promote anonymity and impersonal contact such as forum questions and general information statements, so community members don’t make any real connections with one another or establish the bond one would expect amongst two women encouraging each other as they face breast cancer together.
MyBCTeam is a much more personal experience, giving women the ability to create their own team – a group of women and providers they have chosen to connect with and recommend. Providers can be more than just oncologists and therapists, but also hairdressers, yoga studios, support groups, etc. It is a support team that will be there for them on an ongoing basis. Other features of the social network include:
–Activity Page: The heartbeat of the site, where women share their daily/hourly ups and downs with each other—triumphs are cheered and challenging moments are supported.
–Find People: Women can search for other women by diagnosis (both stage and type) and also by age and location.
–Provider Directory: A searchable directory (by keyword and location) of a variety of providers, submitted by women, specializing in breast cancer treatments.
–The Team: Users share the team of providers who have helped them during and after treatment – from an oncology radiologist to a nutritionist or hair stylist. Women can also add other women they find supportive to their team, offering another great way to connect.–
Q & A: A searchable database of questions and answers submitted by the community of women.
–Pinboard: A discovery area wherewomen visually share their journey with breast cancer and treatment. Pins can include ways of managing their self-image, recipes, family photos, or places they’d like to travel after treatment.
–“Hug” Button: The unique “hug” button is used to show empathy and understanding to other women. Women can also choose to “like” someone else’s status, story or photo to show their approval.
–Mobile App: Gives women the ability to ask questions and connect to the community wherever they are – doctor’s waiting room, receiving treatment, etc. The free, MyBCTeam app is available on iOS and Android devices.
“I’m so happy I found MyBCTeam, it’s like having your best friends around all the time. We can laugh, cry and tell each other our thoughts,” said Ida Rosenberg, a MyBCTeam member from Agoura Hills, CA. “We are women from all over who are sharing our experiences with one another and know what they mean. We have a common bond with each other without ever meeting. It’s a feeling I can’t describe, but I know I am part of a sisterhood of strong supportive women. Without MyBCTeam, I would have never been able to be part of such an amazing experience of unity.”
MyBCTeam is the latest social network from MyHealthTeams, creators of social networks specifically for people with chronic health conditions in the U.S. By bringing together people who understand one another’s experiences with their diseases, MyHealthTeams makes it easy for people to build an online support network by connecting with one other and discovering the best providers around them.
To connect and share with other women with breast cancer, visit http://www.MyBreastCancerTeam.com
About MyHealthTeams
MyHealthTeams is a San Francisco-based company building deeply engaging social networks for people facing chronic health conditions in the U.S. MyHealthTeams makes it easy for people living with chronic conditions to easily connect with the best people who can help them. By combining the social elements of a Facebook with the hyper-local recommendations of a Yelp, people can connect with, and get support from others who share their diagnosis, and find the providers most suited to help them thrive. MyHealthTeams’ flagship site, MyAutismTeam, launched in December 2011 and now has almost 30,000 registered parents from across the country. To learn more visit: https://www.myhealthteams.com.
Many Talented People named Kate Matthews
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