by Janet Chan Hayley Gullen’s This Might Surprise You details her journey being diagnosed with early onset HER2 positive breast cancer. She starts with finding her breast lump and takes us through her experience being diagnosed and enduring multiple treatments. Breast cancer is one of the most diagnosed cancers in women globally with an estimated 2.3 million women diagnosed in 2022 (WHO, 2025). Early onset breast cancer is when breast cancer is diagnosed before age 50 and its incidence is on the rise (Brown, n.d.). HER2 positive breast cancer is a quickly growing cancer that accounts for about 20% of… Read More
I’m a Terminal Cancer Patient, but I’m Fine
by Melanie Anspacher The graphic memoir by manga artist Hilnama is strikingly unique, not only in narrative and artistic content but in the author’s mission to leave a legacy to her readers. The work was initially released as 10 online chapter installments, published on Flex Comix’s Comic Polaris manga site in 20201. From the outset, Hilnama’s goal is to help others while also recounting her experience. As she tells her readers, “If it helps even a little, that’d make me happy [pg. 5].” The published book includes an epilogue, as well as reflections on each online chapter that describe how… Read More