While not a perfect read, Kimiko Does Cancer: A Graphic Memoir has several good reflections of what is happening to the author and has strong relatability. You might not have had cancer (or a serious illness) but you can relate to her struggles and journey. I found myself realizing I have thought/felt some of the things she talks about with my own health issues, as much of what she says and does is universal. It really isn’t about cancer, that is just the starting point that makes her take stock of things. She has issues with her family, especially her parents. She has issues with her partner. She has the mentality of needing help, but does not want to ask as that is not “how it is done” in her family and/or her world. She wants to be there for her friends, but also tires easily and pushes them away. She learns how hard the medical system can be, even with Canadian health care. She deals with doctors and the “team” that makes her feel seen and hidden simultaneously. It has a fresh, but familiar feeling to the “being sick” theme but shows that she is real and human.
And there is much more. Kimiko Tobimatsu does not hide things from her readers, but she is also private where it is needed. She gives us what she needs us to know to follow by her side, to understand her thoughts. I enjoyed the level of detail she gives, however, I would have liked for her to explain why things like gender, race and sexuality played into her worries and how her medical care was approached. She does touch on it (she is told by a female Doctor she does not need a pap because she only has sex with women, so she’s “fine”, with a footnote saying “Bad medical advice”) but I would have liked to see more about her mixed heritage and how being a biological female who played with gender added to things.
Keet Geniza’s artwork was not to my personal taste, but it added a tone to things that helped move the story along. And as things are more focused on Tobimatsu’s feelings and thoughts and less on the actual cancer and a detailed look at the treatment they do not distract from things.