If you would like to make a donation on behalf of Miriam, visit Miriam's favorite breast cancer-related charity at BAY AREA YOUNG SURVIVORS or donate to Miriam's son Aaron's College Fund by visiting her MEMORIAL DONATIONS page.


ABOUT MIRIAM:

When she was only 43, Miriam Engleberg was diagnosed with breast cancer. She chronicled her battle in a series of comic strips that were collected in a book called Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person. It was her way of coping with the shock of diagnosis, surgery, chemotherapy, support groups, and a second cancer diagnosis.

She approached it all with a sense of optimism. "When I first wrote the book, it (the cancer) had gone away," said Engelberg, a computer trainer for the nonprofit CompassPoint. "I just assumed that I would be one of the ones where it wouldn’t come back."

Engelberg was nearly finished with her book when she learned that her cancer had returned and spread to her brain.

Engelberg said there was only one subject about which she never joked: Her concern for her 9-year-old son, Aaron, and her fears about leaving him without a mother.

Many women who followed Engelberg's blog and online comic of the week say they felt a powerful connection.

Cartoonist Brian Fies, author of Mom’s Cancer, praised Engelberg's unflinching look at the humorous, embarrassing or unflattering aspects of cancer. On his blog, Fies says he "was amazed by both their raw honesty and the guts it took to write and draw them."

In honor of Miriam’s talent and spirit, we’d like to present on of her last comic strip.