“What happens when a shoe-crazy, listick-obsessed, wine-swilling, pasta-slurping, fashion-fanatic, madly-in-love, single-forever, about-to-get-married big city girl cartoonist with a fabulous life discovers…A LUMP IN HER BREAST!?”

What happens is that she writes a book. Marisa Acocella Marchetto is a cartoonist for the New York Times and the New Yorker. Her high energy, materialistic, glamourous lifestyle was shattered by the discovery that she had breast cancer. Cancer Vixen tells her story. But there is an unusual twist " it is written in the form of a comic-strip novel.

The book begins with a description of her life as a successful New York cartoonist. We glimpse the frantic creative process, the hours spent waiting in lines, the rejections, the rivalry with other cartoonists, the parties, the celebrities, the glamour.

Then " disaster. The lump in the breast is found, tests are done, and treatment follows. Marrissa takes us through it all. A book like this will only work if the author is willing to expose herself, and Marissa is savagely honest. Her drawings are as brutal as her words, and she doesn’t hesitate to caricature herself as well as others. It is a fascinating journey, and Marissa is a gallant guide. She is determined not be a cancer victim, so she becomes the cancer vixen instead.

One of the surprising strengths of the book are the wonderfully realised characters. There is the loving, but over-bearing mother, the dashing lover, the gay best friend, the amusing gang of fellow cartoonists, the witch-like rival, and many others. I was quickly drawn into her world.

Marissa is a professional cartoonist, and there are some impressive drawings in the book. But for the most part it is drawn in a Sunday comic-strip style, all bold lines and bolder colours. It is highly effective, and adds to the breathless pacing of the book.

Many people find life-threatening illness to be a catalyst for spiritual reflection, and Marissa is no exception. Christians will be disappointed that she spends no time with the God revealed in the Bible. Her spiritual journey consists of a little bit of Catholic superstition and a heavy dose of Jewish mysticism (via the Kabbalah Centre). Marissa recognises the emptiness of her former materialistic lifestyle, but she looks for the answers in the wrong place.

Still, Cancer Vixen is a book I thoroughly recommend. Those dealing with the reality of cancer will be especially helped by her story. Yet everyone will find much in these pages to amuse, inform and entertain.