Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips

by Kris Carr, Sheryl Crow (Foreword by)

Overview

Actress and photographer Kris Carr thought she had a hangover, but a Jivamukti yoga class didn't provide its usual kick-ass cure. A visit to her doctor confirmed her “liver looked like Swiss cheese,” covered with cancerous tumors. She entered trench warfare (wearing cowboy boots into the MRI machine, no less), vowing, “Cancer needed a makeover and I was just the gal to do it!” She began writing and filming her journey, documenting her interactions with friends, doctors, alternative “quacks,” blind dates, and other women with cancer—sadly a growing group. These include hip, young women such as illustrator-author Marisa Acocella Marchetto (Cancer Vixen), Glamour writer-editor Erin Zammett (My So-Called Normal Life), MTV personality Diem Brown (Real World/Road Rules Challenge), model Sharon Blynn (founder, Bald Is Beautiful), and music manager Jackie Farry, among others. The Learning Channel broadcast the premiere of Carr's unforgettable documentary, Crazy Sexy Cancer on August 29, 2007.
CRAZY SEXY CANCER TIPS gathers the lessons learned and advice offered from Carr's own journey, as well as the experiences of her cancer posse. Full-color photos accompany personal stories and candid revelations in this scrapbook of advice, warnings, and resources for the cancer patient. Chapters cover your changing social life, dating, sex, and appearance; essential health tips on how to boost your immune system; recipes; medical and holistic resources; and information on young survivor support groups. The resulting book is a warm, yet informative tool for any woman newly diagnosed with the disease and for those who love them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781599217239
Publisher:	Skirt!
Publication date:	08/01/2007
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	543,302
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

KRIS CARR is an award-winning actress, photographer and filmmaker. Her documentary Crazy Sexy Cancer chronicles Kris' journey with cancer. This film launches a new documentary film strand for The Learning Channel in summer 2007. In 2002 Kris directed a short entitled Redemption about the 20th anniversary of the Bottle Bill and the homeless men and women who rely on the nickel deposits for their livelihood. As an actress, her stage credits include: the role of Cathy Mae (based on Marilyn Monroe) in the world premiere of Arthur Miller's Mr. Peters' Connections, opposite Peter Falk, the Broadway production of Chicago which she toured throughout the US and Europe, performances at such notable venues as Naked Angels, New York Stage & Film, The New Victory, Sundance Theatre Institute, Samuel Beckett Theater, Soho Rep, Cleveland Playhouse, Classic Stage Company, and the HBO Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. Some film and television credits include Queenie In Love (Cannes Film Festival), Five Years (“Best Feature Film” 2002 Victoria Independent Film Festival), and the title character in the award-winning short film Kalin's Prayer (Best Short Film, Hamptons Film Festival), Law & Order, the PBS documentary Arthur Miller: Portrait of a Storyteller, commercials for Dove, Nike, Taco Bell, Jeep Cherokee, Lifetime, Chase Bank, the US Olympics, and several SuperBowl spots for Bud Light. Kris has been a faculty member at both Playwrights Horizons Theater School (NYU) and Stone Street Studios. For more information on Kris' photography go to www.kriscarrphotography.com. For info on her film, go to www.crazysexycancer.com

Table of Contents

Contents

Foreword by Sheryl Crow
Chapter One: Me
Chapter Two: Holy Shit! I Have Cancer. Now What?
Chapter Three: Cancer College
Chapter Four: When Do I Become a Survivor?
Chapter Five: Go Ahead - Use the Cancer Card
Chapter Six: Eat Your Veggies and Shake Your Ass
Chapter Seven: Bald is Beautiful (and other facts about femininity and fashion)
Chapter Eight: Bandage or Bondage: Dating, Sex, Marriage, Babies
Conclusion
Appendix: Resources Crazy Sexy Cancer Cuisine (recipes)

Editorial Reviews

Blindsided at 31 with a devastating diagnosis of stage four cancer, actor/photographer Kris Carr vowed to fight back with a vengeance. As a coping strategy, she began a series of video journals chronicling her thoughts and fears, her seesawing emotions, her experiences with conventional and alternative therapies, and her interactions with family, friends, and other young women dealing with the Big C. All of this morphed into an extraordinary documentary, Crazy Sexy Cancer, which debuted in August 2007 on the Learning Channel. This companion book is "the ultimate girlfriends' guide to kicking cancer tail," a practical tool kit filled with warm, funny, inspiring advice from the trenches. Life-affirming and radiating positive energy, it captures the very spirit of survival.

After being diagnosed with epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, a rare liver cancer, at the tender age of 31, first-time author Carr employed her photographic skills to chronicle her cancer journey and those of other young women. Though she uses a light touch and fills the pages with photos, drawings, and graphics, Carr is also unexpectedly contemplative. Her guide is an informative companion for anyone facing serious disease, with its coverage of topics ranging from choosing a doctor or hospital, conducting research (e.g., Google), and undergoing therapy to building support networks, buying clothing, and retaining intimate relationships. Resources include simple recipes (most ingredient amounts are frustratingly absent), web sites, and a reading list, which lacks Ramy Gafni's Beauty Therapy: The Ultimate Guide to Looking and Feeling Great While Living with Cancer(though the book is mentioned in the text). This first entry in Globe Pequot's new Skirt! Books imprint is recommended for public libraries or health-focused special libraries; demand may be high owing to the premiere of Carr's documentary, Crazy Sexy Cancer, on the Learning Channel on August 29.
—Lois K. Merry

Library Journal

"I read Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips cover to cover on a a flight from LA to NY. I laughed out loud, wept quietly, and most of all, marveled at the magic that is Kris Carr. If Deepak Chopra, What To Expect When You're Expecting, and Sex and the City had a love child, it would look just like Kris' Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips. It is sheer perfection for cancer 'cowgirls' and their loved ones—colorful, soulful, and intimate."—Rory Freedman, coauthor of #1 NY Times best seller Skinny Bitch"Kris is a ray of light that is needed to raise awareness of what it means to give back. What more can one wish for? She is a true leader of courage and inspiration."—Donna Karan "Kris Carr has done something extraordinary with this book: She has put cancer in its place. She has triumphed, and paved a path by which others can triumph too. She deserves our most heartfelt 'Bravo.'"—Marianne WilliamsonAuthor of A Return to Love and Everyday Grace When you have been there you know the experience and can help others survive their journey through the difficulties of life. Kris Carr's book is an excellent resource filled with tips on how to not only survive but thrive. If you have the inspiration, desire and intention to be a survivor the abundant information about life and living contained in this book will coach you in a way that will make you an empowered star performer and winner in the face of adversity. —Bernie Siegel, MD Author of Love, Medicine & Miracles and Help Me To Heal "I love Kris's book because it made me feel so many things. Familiar things. It made me laugh and reflect. And thank God she has the courage and generosity to share her experience. This book will be a comfort to so many who are going through the experience or who have graduated to survivor."—Sheryl CrowFrom the Foreword

From the Publisher