"The Big C": Believe it or not?

By Megan

Far be it from me to judge another woman on how she reacts to the news that she has cancer. But here are some things I did NOT do when I was diagnosed with breast cancer:

Flirt with my oncologist
Expose my breasts to police officers
Take on extravagant home-improvement projects -- and invite the contractor to charge me double
Deliberately pour red wine on my couch
Fill the bathtub with fake blood and pretend to be dead to scare my son
Buy a new red convertible sports car that I didn't know how to drive
Tell any obese people that they could be either fat or bitchy but not both, then offer $100 for every pound lost
Launch into a chain of cartwheels
Barge into a neighbor's house without knocking -- and scream at her for not being more courteous

But those are just a few of the things Cathy does on Showtime's "The Big C" after she is diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma. And that's just in the pilot.

Not very believable.

But that's just me. What do you think?

Posted November 18, 2010.

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Frankly, I don't know how I would react if I were diagnosed with metastatic disease.

— Madeleine Tress

First of all I didn't ever hear them say what kind of cancer she has. They show the X-ray of a tumor in her breast/chest and one in her abdomen. Outside of that I don't recall hearing the actual diagnosis. This bothered me a lot. Then she said she didn't want to do chemo because she likes her hair too much. OK? It's your LIFE woman! I LOVED my hair and it was prettier than hers, but to deny chemo for that reason is absurd. Deny it on some respectable principle but not because you like your hair. I really admire Laura Linney as an actor and have been a fan of hers for years, but this show is honestly nothing but insulting to those of us who are surviving cancer. My mom died of Melanoma so watching it on TV is not interesting (watching it at all is really depressing), and if that's what she has how long is this show meant to last? My mom, even with radiation, lasted 2 months with the tumors in her brain. Honestly, the last thing a cancer survivor wants to see on TV or in movies are people dying from cancer. I want to see people living from it & fighting against it. And, for the record, I was doing cartwheels before my mastectomy & I plan to do them again as soon as my recon stitches are healed!

— Marie Farrell

Beyond all the "stunts" taken on by Linney's character, and the messages that might not be so acceptable, what is honestly conveyed is the way we question how we've been leading our lives and how we want to lead them in the coming days, weeks, months, years, whatever. So maybe we're taking those stunts too literally; this is television you know. I know that watching this and understanding the need to check out my days and how I spend them, was actually poignant.

— Alice

Megan

Megan is a volunteer on SHARE's Breast Cancer Hotline.