The C-Word

This is a book about the different ways the diagnosis of ovarian cancer affected two active members of the lesbian community in Melbourne in the 1990s. When Maureen O''Connor was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in February 1996, she delayed going to hospital so she could appear in the Performing Older Women''s Circus production, ''Still Revolting''. This book describes the daily battle Maureen (Maurs) fought over the next two-and-a-half years. This is an honest and forthright account of cancer. It deals with the loneliness the partner of a sufferer faces, the gruelling treatments with radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and the terror and calm of facing death. A story of a powerful partnership, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of community.