Cancer on Five Dollars a Day (chemo not included)
How Humor Got Me Through the Toughest Journey of My Life
By Robert Schimmel; Alan Eisenstock
(Da Capo Lifelong Books, Paperback, 9780738213187, 224pp.)
Publication Date: January 2009
Other Editions of This Title: Hardcover, Hardcover, Paperback
Categories: Diseases - Cancer, Medical - General, Personal Memoirs
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In the spring of 2000, stand-up comedian Robert Schimmel was diagnosed with stage III non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and soon the fire of his white-hot career started to fizzle.
But Schimmel never lost his sense of humor, his searing honesty, and most of all, his passion to make people laugh. Indeed, it was his basic need to entertain—even if the only people around him were suffering from cancer and the room he was playing was the Mayo Clinic infusion center—that carried him through his ordeal.
Alternately laugh-out-loud funny and deeply moving, Cancer on $5 a Day is a stirring account of how one man’s face-off with a deadly disease helped him better understand himself, and ultimately changed his life.
Robert Schimmel was named one of Comedy Central’s 100 Greatest Comics. He is a regular on Howard Stern and Conan O’Brien. He lives in Los Angeles.
Alan Eisenstock is the author of several nonfiction works. He lives in Pacific Palisades, California.
The 60-year-old comedian, who often joked about his own life in his raunchy stand-up routines, died Friday from injuries suffered in a car accident. Fresh Air remembers Schimmel with highlights from a 2008 interview in which he discusses his memoir Cancer On $5 A Day. More at NPR.org
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Nashville Tennessean, 1/30/09
“Offers an edgy, humorous look at [Schimmel’s] battle with the disease.”
InfoDad.com, 1/29/09
“Personal, profane, often overdone and equally often hilarious…The book bursts with life, and its message of fighting back—coupled with its equally strong message of trying anything when you have nothing to lose—is sure to resonate with families dealing with any type of serious disease, not just cancer.”
OpEdNews.com, 2/5/09
“Incredibly interesting and very, very funny…While this is not what I’d call a light read, it is anything but grim. It’s the story of an extraordinary man who is painfully honest about himself, his illness, and how it changed him. It’s the archetypal human drama; the hero and the telling are beautiful but raw…I highly recommend Schimmel’s book. You’ll get to know him and learn something, all while laughing your head off.”
Blogcritics.org, 3/21/09
“A very fast read…[Schimmel] tells his story without pulling any punches…Cancer on $5 a Day is written in a friendly, relaxed manner that helps the reader to immediately empathize with Schimmel's plight.”
Omaha World Herald, 3/26/09
“Schimmel spilled a goulash of emotions, thoughts, observations and roguish jokes into his paperback.”
Ode, August 2009
“Tells the story of how [Schimmel] kept his wicked sense of humor after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.”
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