But even if I want to consider that, here the advice is “get a second opinion from a trusted source, and get support from your friends.” Which on the whole, isn’t a bad idea.

Steven-
I agree that there do appear to be some medical errors in Marvel Divas #2, particularly in regards to the staging of the cancer and how it was diagnosed. However, other than a brief comment of “That’s not stage two,” to myself, I didn’t find that it detracted from the story. It’s a story about emotions, not about cancer staging.

I say “appear” because
1) there’s a couple of ways A-S could explain away the inconsistencies before the end of the series, and
2) the information we’re getting is filtered through the interpretation of Night Nurse and Angelica, and their understanding may not be complete. When evaluating medical scenes in comic books I find it helpful to bear in mind that it’s the character talking, not necessarily the writer.
(That being said, I suspect it was sloppy research on the part of A-S and he should have taken the extra fifteen minutes to Google “breast cancer staging” and get it right.)

Ionizing radiation can cause cell death initially and then cancer later. The cell death strikes rapidly growing and multiplying cells — such as those in the reproductive organs — first, leading to sterility. Angelica’s powers could have a similar effect on her — sterility first, cancer later.

I have several patients who refer to all radiology tests including CTs and MRIs as “x-rays” — and for all we know, Angelica could be talking about a set of chest x-rays the doctor wanted before surgery.

Doctor Strange’s inability to cure cancer sadly ties in with his across the board impotence in comics recently, but it is not without precedent: he could not cure Wong of his cancer either. I don’t find it surprising that Angelica would want a second opinion about the diagnosis from someone who has a specialized skill set like Dr Strange. Family physicians diagnose people with things all the time that they don’t have the ability to treat (a torn ACL, for instance).

Johanna-
I think you’re overstating it a bit with your “insane” comment. I agree that people shouldn’t turn to comic books for medical advice, but in my experience people pick up information from things they read and watch without remembering precisely where they got it, and I’m sure somewhere at least a few people have — inadvertently — taken medical advice from a Marvel super-hero comic.

“You shouldn’t. And you should stop reading them immediately, and find other sites you like better…”

I’m thinking Polite Dissent might be an appropriate site. ;)

I was being “insulting” only because you and Aguirre-Sacasa are ignoring basic aspects of storytelling. The “second opinion” that takes up a lot of the issue is terrible writing that’s based on a failure to describe basic medicine correctly. The diagnosis that Jones supposedly got should have been based on a biopsy, pathological tests, etc., not on the feel of a breast lump. A second opinion would have been about treatment options — amount of breast tissue to be removed, chemotherapy drugs to use, etc. — not whether she *had* breast cancer. If you’re unable to recognize or unwilling to deal with an incompetent treatment of a real-life subject, why should I take your review(s) seriously?

SRS

I didn’t say plot details don’t matter, but you’re not complaining about the plot. You’re complaining that a playwright instead of a doctor wrote a story about superhero women supporting each other during a medical crisis. You’re looking for things to nitpick and ignoring the emotional realism of the story. And when told your reaction is overblown, you start insulting me, a sure sign that you know your points are insupportable. (If you think I’m afraid of antagonizing anyone at Marvel, this must be the first review of a comic of theirs you’ve ever read on this site.)

Obviously, your family situation makes you sensitive to this topic, and I’m sorry they are going through such difficult times. Perhaps you would be better served by reading other comics than this one, since it’s touching on such raw nerves for you.

If the storytelling standard you’re using for MARVEL DIVAS #2 was used by other reviewers, for any material, there wouldn’t be serious reviews of anything. The goal for a writer would be to see how strongly a reader’s emotions could be manipulated.

I’m left wondering if you’ve taken literature courses that actually sunk in, or whether you believe that superhero comics are such worthless junk that reviewing them seriously as literature would antagonize people you need to stay friendly with.

And as for personal experience: You had a breast lump; I had an aunt who died from breast cancer, and a sister who’s undergoing chemotherapy now for breast cancer. Getting the details wrong when it comes to diagnosis and treatment can rob people of their lives.

SRS

MARVEL DIVAS #2 was terrible, unfortunately, mainly because writer Aguirre-Sacasa decided to make breast cancer central to the story without knowing much about breast cancer. Jones has a lump, and has supposedly been told she has breast cancer, stage two, but the lump could be a number of things. An oncologist wouldn’t have Jones get X-rays — the term should have been “mammogram” — because mammograms are screening tools. She would have an MRI, followed by a biopsy, cellular analysis, and, if the lump was cancerous, further tests, staging, and recommendations for treatment. That’s not like the story, in which Jones gets a diagnosis without tests (Stage II is worse than a pea-sized lump), then asks for a second opinion on a breast lump.

If Jones’s use of her power without shielding threatened to make her infertile, then the physical threat was localized to her reproductive organs. Supposing that her power caused breast cancer doesn’t make sense.

Strange shouldn’t have used magic to detect cancer if magic couldn’t treat it; the two subjects are related. If a writer wanted to use magic, he could have supposed that magic would boost the effectiveness of alternative therapies or supposed the existence of a healing spring. Having Walker consider giving up her soul to save Jones before they even know how treatable the cancer is makes the situation upside down.

The mistakes re breast cancer aren’t minor missteps; they ruin the storyline and the miniseries. Considering how common breast cancer is, Aguirre-Sacasa and his editor were obligated to get the details right.

The threat to Jones’s internal organs in Busiek’s AVENGERS concerned cell death and loss of function, rather than cancer, presumably. Still, having Jones deal with uterine or ovarian cancer could have worked, but how would male readers have reacted?

SRS

[...] at Comics Worth Reading Reviews Marvel Divas #2: “This is actually pretty good.” (Background on the [...]

Didn’t PENTHOUSE COMIX have a feature or two that would fit such a description?

I was recently reminded of that chapter of publishing history when I happened to re-read this (work-safe) remembrance by Mark Evanier about the editor of those comics. Tragic story, really:

http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2005_07_20.html#010097

Although, come to think of it, if they did a full-out superheroine porn comic, I might read that, if they were honest about their intent and it was good porn. It’s this trying to have all the audiences and not commit that screws things up.

(I was actually in the store with my girlfriend and she laughed and asked if I was going to buy Marvel Divas. I responded, “No, but Sirens of Gotham is pretty good.”)

Thanks for the heads-up; might have to give this one a second look rather than judging the book by its proverbial cover. I like the sound of the breast cancer story arc (Busiek played with the potential side effects of Firestar’s radiation-based powers back when he was on Avengers), and all in all this sounds reminiscent of one of the better bits of Millar’s Fantastic Four run, where Sue started a charity for victims of superhuman violence with She-Hulk and the Wasp.