Submit your Cancer Patient/Survivor/Caretaker Story, and have it become a Cancer Owl comic!
I've been telling my story for the past year, now I want to hear from you! I am taking specific experiences from other people dealing with this damned disease and putting it into a Cancer Owl format.
Q: How do I submit my story?
A: Fill out the form below!
Q: So I'll see my comic next week?
A: It could be many months! I'll take your story and sketch it in my journal. If I feel the sketch should should go the full mile to a finished comic, I'll contact you about next steps. If I feel that your story is better in word form, I'll ask your permission to post what you wrote!
Q: My cancer story is important to me. If I send you my personal story/experience, what will you do with it?
A: Your story is very important to me too, and I promise to do my very best to honor and respect the heart of your story and you as an individual. But please keep in mind that I plan to take artistic license with your story. And what do I mean by that? Well, for starters, all my characters are talking animals. Secondly, what works in written form doesn't always translate in visual form, so I may need to change a lot of information so it can it can work as a comic. So, thirdly, you must understand that Cancer Owl, while it is deeply personal to me as a cancer survivor, it is also entertainment. I strive to make many of my comics funny as well as informative and meaningful. My cartooning style uses sarcasm, irony, bluntly-honest humor, and cursing on occasion. If you don't like the idea of seeing your cancer experience being interpreted in the manner I described, then please reconsider submitting your story.
Q: Are you going to release any of my personal information in addition to the comic based on my story?
A: I will only release additional information with your permission, which you can do on the form below. And I REALLY hope you allow me to give you credit, post your written story, and provide links to a website or a blog (if you have one). But I understand that you may want to remain anonymous, which I completely respect.
Q: Okay, so should I write my ENTIRE cancer story?
A: Comics do better with short, specific experiences. So don't worry about writing your entire story, just a snapshot of one thing that happened. In fact, please select one category from this list below:
1) One story about a specific symptom/event from chemotherapy.
2) Something somebody said to you during cancer treatment that's just...wrong.
3) Name one way that your cancer experience was different from what they show in Hollywood/media.
4) Name 5 thoughts you had while receiving radiation.
5) If you had/have an ostomy, tell a horrifying (but something you can laugh at now) poop story.
6) Tell a short life lesson anyone can benefit from, based on one experience with cancer.
7) Tell what it was like to work while going through cancer treatment.
8) Name one way a relationship changed after you were diagnosed.
9) Name an experience (miscellaneous) you had that I haven't named but you think would make a great comic!
Thanks for sharing your story! I can't wait to read it!