Z and the Cancer Meanie - Tapa blanda

Z is fun and friendly. He loves to spend time with his mom, his dad, and his friends. But Z's mom is sick. She has cancer. And Cancer is a Big Meanie! Come and meet Z and learn more about cancer- what it is, what it does, and how to still have fun.

Hillary St.Pierre-Ford is a Registered Nurse, Hodgkin's Lymphoma patient, political advocate, writer, wife, and most importantly, mother to the real life "Z"- Xander. She received her BSN in Nursing from The College of New Rochelle only to be diagnosed with lymphoma in 2006 at the age of 23. "Z and the Cancer Meanie" was written during her first bone marrow transplant to help explain cancer to her son. Hillary has chronicled her battle with cancer and health care on her blog: baldiesblog.blogspot.com, which was listed by The American Cancer Society among The Top Ten for patient written cancer resources, and is a contributing writer to "The Huffington Post." She has advocated with The American Cancer Society, Citizens Health Alliance, and Working Families Win for improvements in healthcare and has contributed politically as a stakeholder for NH Department of Health's Health Information Exchange working towards creating an electronic medical record system. She continues to battle lymphoma. Alexander "Xander" Ford was 2 when his mother was diagnosed with lymphoma. Trying to understand, he asked a lot of questions and made comments appearing in Z and the Cancer Meanie. Xander is now 8 years old. He still enjoys making up stories when he isn't playing soccer, basketball, and baseball. He enjoys traveling and doing math. Chris LoParco is an illustrator, writer, cartoonist, and all around designer. His favorite roles, though, are being a husband and father. He graduated from School of Visual Arts with his BFA in Illustration and Cartooning, and is currently working as a footwear designer in Manhattan, NY.