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Cancer on $5 a Day* *(chemo not included): How Humor Got Me Through the Toughest Journey of My Life | 
 enlarge | Authors: Robert Schimmel, Alan Eisenstock
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Category: Book
List Price: $22.00
Buy New: $12.00
You Save: $10.00 (45%)
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Rating:  25 reviews
Sales Rank: 25922
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 224
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.6 x 1
ISBN: 0738211583
Dewey Decimal Number: 362.1969940092
EAN: 9780738211589
ASIN: 0738211583
Publication Date: February 25, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: New - Has remainder mark. Fast shipping from trusted wholesaler with many exclusive publisher contracts.
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Product Description
In the spring of 2000, Robert Schimmel was riding high. He’d won the Stand-Up of the Year Award, his HBO special was a huge hit, and his sitcom had been picked up. And then it all came crashing down. Diagnosed with Stage III non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, he was told he would have to undergo chemotherapy immediately. The sitcom was dumped and the fire of his white-hot career started to go out. But Schimmel never lost his sense of humor, his knife-like edge, and most of all, his passion to entertain. Indeed, it was his basic need to laugh-even if the only people around him were suffering from cancer and the room he was playing was the Mayo Clinic infusion center-that carried him through his ordeal. From his colorful banter with nurses and other patients during chemo, to his hilarious conversation with a wig salesman, going for the laugh was Robert Schimmel’s survival mechanism. Alternately laugh-out-loud funny and profound, Cancer on Five Dollars a Day is an honest account of how one man’s face-off with a deadly disease helped him better understand himself.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 20 more reviews...
Smiles...Tears....and more Smiles November 12, 2008
D. Kelley (St. Louis)
This is a very uplifting read on a gloomy topic. Hopefully you know Robert Schimmel from his Stand-up comedy act. I've seen Robert's comedy show 5 or 6 times, and consider myself to be one who recruits new fans to his shows whenever he comes to St. Louis.
I bought this book after one of Robert's appearances on the Howard Stern show. I thought this would be a good book to read on vacation on the beach.
So, here I am sitting on the beach, nice breeze, cocktail ready....I started to tear up after reading the first few paragraphs. What am I doing reading something sad on the beach???? I kept going and am glad I did. I couldn't put the book down. I couldn't wait to read the next word.
It was almost as if Robert was on stage telling us this whole story.
I would assume everybody has experienced a loss due to cancer or some other disease. I certainly have. This book walks you through the routine, highs/lows, emotions of that those afflicted go through.....Robert speaks almost as your relative, co-worker, or friend you may have lost.
Thanks Robert! I can't wait to see you!
Schimmel Finds Humor in a Possible Death Sentence. October 22, 2008
G. Merritt (Boulder, CO)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
In many ways, Robert Schimmel is the Lenny Bruce of our times. After experiencing his performance at the Denver Comedy Works this past weekend, I read this memoir chronicling his deeply-personal, life-and-death battle with Stage III non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Bob is a stand-up comedian best known for his controversial sexual material and self-deprecating sense of humor, his HBO performances, and his appearances on The Howard Stern Show. His edgy style has gotten him into plenty of trouble. The networks are afraid of him, he confessed during his show. He joked about getting banned from Late Night with Conan O'Brien almost getting banned from The Hollywood Squares for making sexual jokes about Louie Anderson.
Cancer on $5 a Day tells the story of Schimmel's treatment and recovery following his cancer diagnoses in June, 2000. Bob was no stranger to cancer. He lost his son, Derek, to brain cancer at age 11. At the time of his diagnosis, Bob had just received the Stand-Up of the Year Award, and he was about to commence work on a new sitcom. His memoir reveals how Schimmel never lost his edgy sense of humor through this dark period of his life. He continued to laugh, even in the face of death, while receiving treatment at Mayo Clinic infusion center in Scottsdale. Even as his hair was falling out, Bob bantered with wig salesmen, inquiring about the possibility of a wig for his pubic area. The ultimate point of Schimmel's memoir is that, without a strong sense of humor during the tough times in life, you're pretty much f***ed (as he would say).
After his recent performance, Bob told me his battle with cancer changed his perspective on material possessions and the LA lifestyle. Although his doctors told him he would never have children again, Bob married his wife Melissa, and they have since had two children. Schimmel's inspirational survival story will make readers laugh and cry at the same time. Only a comic genius like Bob Schimmel could find so much humor in a possible death sentence. Recommended.
G. Merritt
first book I read in years September 6, 2008
Rich H. (SAC , CA)
I am not your typical book reader ,but after finding a book about your favorite comedian I could not resist.This was litterally the first book I read in over 20 years.I loved the book and was well entertained.I now have a more insight on how Robert's last decade really was.
 Make the best of a bad situation. August 13, 2008
Keith Nichols (Dallas, TX United States)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
It's always encouraging when someone beats cancer. And non-Hodgkins lymphoma is especially tough to overcome. Robert Schimmel had the advantage of age, good health, and caring support in his battle. And no doubt his determined sense of humor helped a lot too, besides bringing a welcome uplift to his fellow chemo patients. His book demonstrates that humor grows out of even the direst situation and that horniness survives all assaults.
There are no profound lessons in this volume beyond illustrating that mental attitude can make a bad time a little better. And whether attitude influences healing or not, it usually just feels better to be positive than negative.
Thank You Mr. Schimmel! June 30, 2008
H. Candelaria (San Jose, CA United States)
I started reading after lunch today, and couldn't put it down. The writing is compelling and real, and inspiring in so many ways.
I am grateful that Mr. Schimmel lived through it all, and even more grateful that his book enriches our lives by reminding us about what really matters. As a survivor myself, and having lost many relatives to cancer, the book had my emotions all over the place...but through it all, the humor prevails. I can't remember ever reading a book that had me laughing and crying at the same time.
This book is in my collection after seeing him on Conan, and it's going to get a lot more readings from here on out. It's a keeper.
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