“I just love saying the word over and over” says Tucson’s legendary cartoonist David Fitzsimmons. “I wonder if some media outlets will be uncomfortable with the name of the program.” Had he forgotten he was talking to the Weekly?

Fitzsimmons is all about tits, right now; specifically, about the cancer afflicting them. Last month he produced Thanks for the Mammaries, an evening of storytellers relating their own experiences with breast cancer. And he presents Titters, an almost-all-female comedy show, at Laff's Comedy Cafe, at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 11. Admission is $15.

Popular Tucson comedian and emcee Nancy Stanley hosts the program, which features Stacy Scheff , Mo Urban, Esther Brilliant, Brigitte Thum and Amber Frame. Headlining is Las Vegas comedian and author Traci Skene, who wrote the hilarious book, Sometimes Ask A Man, and co-wrote The Comedy Bible, an essential resource for starting standup comics. “I'm going to do probably ten minutes of comedy about cancer and my mom,” Fitzsimmons says. “We're going to laugh at breast cancer.

“The (women) who are part of this show are going to be talking about women's parts and how women deal with women's health issues. Guys should definitely go because it will be an eye-opener. Female comedians offer insight in a world that's patriarchal and male-dominated, and, wow. It’s a refreshing voice to hear.”

Fitzsimmons’ advocacy for breast cancer awareness is hard won. “My mighty mother and my sweet sis both perished from breast cancer,” he says. “I’m familiar with its ravages.” In fact, both his parents died of cancer within a month of each other when he was their caretaker. He was 24.
“I'm a survivor of bladder cancer, out of which I got 90 minutes of comedy gold. But I'm at the point of my life where I'm enjoying remembering my mom, and her really awesome sense of humor, which I can't help but guess I inherited. I watched my heroic parents deal with their travails with tasteless and inappropriate humor. It's contagious.”

Beyond what the media might think, Fitzsimmons has some concerns about the sensitivities of cancer victims and their loved ones. “Maybe some folks who are suffering through cancer will think, ‘There's nothing funny about cancer! It's a horrible, horrible disease.’ I would argue, having been through it and seen death up close, laughing at suffering is the best way to defy its power to overwhelm you.”

For Happier Habits

Fitzsimmons tackles a different deadly disease—substance abuse—with Fitz & Friends at the Whistle Stop, Sunday, Oct. 29, 5:30 p.m. at the Whistle Stop, 127 W. 5th St. The comedy show benefits Exodus Community Services, and features David Membrila, Josiah Osego, and improv by Not Burnt Out Just Unscrewed plus Stanley and Fitzgerald.