Family Illness
Last fall I posted about a family illness, but didn't give a lot of details.
In October my fiancée was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer. It's rare for young women to get breast cancer, and she's otherwise healthy and has no family history, so it was a real bolt from the blue.
She's been in nonstop treatment for the last eight months, which has been an emotional and physical ordeal that's hard to describe. We both have all the support we could ask for—including an incredible medical team—and we've had some really good moments during these months, but it's still a terrifying and isolating experience. Treatment is ongoing, and there's no well-defined end point; things are going to continue to be scary and difficult for a while.
I'm usually pretty private about my personal life, but I wanted to explain why I've missed some midnight comic deadlines and have been particularly hard to reach lately. I've also spent a lot of these eight months immersed in cancer science, and I want to be free to talk (and draw comics) about stuff I'm learning without the unexplained subject matter leaving everyone worried and guessing.
Thank you so much for your patience, kind words, and all the little flash games you all sent. And all the best to those of you who are also caring for someone with cancer, or who are struggling with cancer yourselves.
Answering Ben Stein's Question