SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — A San Francisco native is about to get global exposure for her one-woman show about surviving cancer at a young age.
“The Fringe is probably the most well-known theater festival in the world. It’s personally a really big deal to me because 11 years ago, when I had cancer and didn’t know it, I was at the Fringe Festival. I was actually experiencing symptoms of having cancer without knowing it,” Timpane said.
Timpane, a Noe Valley native, had stage 3 Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She used humor to help deal with her diagnosis by writing, producing and performing “Lymphomaniac” — a candid and humorous look at life with cancer. Her one-woman show debuted 10 years ago, was revived for a limited run late last year, and now, it’s off to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August, with some added perspective.
“I think now it’s much more universal, because we all deal with mental health issues so consistently now,” Timpane said. “And it’s such a universal thing, that I think anyone can relate to having anxiety or having an eating disorder, having PTSD – which are themes that come up in the show.”
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Now in remission, Timpane wants to spread a message of hope.
“I think when you’re going through a hard time, it’s so important to remember that the pendulum swings the other way. It does. It always does. And it sounds corny. It sounds like I’m just reading a line out of a book, but it’s so true,” Timpane said. “So, if you’re going through a hard time, just remind yourself that this is not permanent, and that life changes all the time, and to be ready for those pendulum swings in the opposite direction because they come at different times. And just be ready for the good.”
Timpane says it’s huge to be able to go back to the Fringe and reclaim what took so much of her life for so long 10 years ago.
Learn more about the show here.
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