Gifford, Rebecca 1972(?)-

PERSONAL:

Born c. 1972; married; husband's name Larry (a sports radio commentator). Education: Ohio University, B.A., 1993.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Columbus, OH. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Capital Books, 22841 Quicksilver Dr., Sterling, VA 20166. E-mail—Rebecca@cancerhappens.com.

CAREER:

Writer and spokesperson on cancer treatment and survival; writer for local corporations in Columbus, OH. Contributor to cancer support Web sites, including Oncology.com, MSNBC.com, and Home Box Office-sponsored Evolution and Revolution cancer information site. Cofounder, Being Conscious (literary reading series), New York, NY.

WRITINGS:

Cancer Happens: Coming of Age with Cancer, Capital Books (Sterling, VA), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS:

Rebecca Gifford was a recent college graduate just beginning her first job when she discovered that she was suffering from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a potentially fatal form of cancer. She was twenty-two years old at the time. Gifford faced months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments and eventually had to have a bone marrow transplant. Needless to say, her career aspirations, friendships, and in fact her entire values system, underwent radical transformation as a result of her experiences. Having been trained as a journalist and writer, Gifford chronicles her successful battle with cancer in Cancer Happens: Coming of Age with Cancer, a memoir that expands upon essays she had written for various cancer support group Web sites.

In a question-and-answer section on her own Web site, Gifford explained her goals with Cancer Happens. She said: "I want to affect people, whether they are cancer survivors or not, with my story on many levels. I want to make them think about human reactions to crises, relationships, healthcare, mortality, their own priorities, and their own coming of age. Along those lines, it's important to affect people on an emotional level. To do these things, the storytelling has to be realistic and startling. I hope I've achieved this."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, March 15, 2003, Elizabeth Williams, review of Cancer Happens: Coming of Age with Cancer, p. 106.

ONLINE

Cancer Happens by Rebecca Gifford,http://www.cancerhappens.com (October 1, 2003), author's home page, with biography, interviews, and resources.