Comical Chronicles

Stories of humor, resilience, and humanity from women navigating cancer on their own terms.

San Quentin Blues

In the midst of my chemo treatments, I had to move from the chic town of Mill Valley, California, to San Quentin Village, a community built on the grounds of the infamous prison by the same name. Naturally, since I was moving, I had to order new checks with my new address printed on them.

Being in the midst of chemo, I was a sight for sore eyes. I had no hair on my head. No eyebrows. No eyelashes. My skin was ashen gray. My body was bloated. The truth is, I not only felt ugly… I was ugly.

So when I walked into the bank and approached the teller, I was prepared for that predictable awkward moment when our eyes would meet and she would need a few moments to process her horror, pity, and fear that this could also happen to her.

After she regained her composure, I told her that I needed to order new checks because I had moved. I also asked for advice on what address to print on the checks. “When you live in San Quentin Village,” I explained, “you can only receive your mail at the post office. But, for the sake of credibility, I’m thinking that I should print my street address on the checks instead.”

“I mean, look at me,” I said, feeling like Uncle Fester of the Addams Family. 

“If I handed you a check with a PO box on it from San Quentin, would you take it?” 

With that, everyone within an ear’s shot shared a good laugh.

And that’s all I could do was laugh.

—Ty H.

Jennifer Omholt is the author of Just Diagnosed: A Survivor’s Guide to Navigating Cancer. A longtime journalist and 24-year cancer survivor, she writes about the emotional, practical, and medical challenges faced during the critical first weeks after diagnosis.