In “The Undying,” Anne Boyer firmly resists the narrative of the breast cancer patient given by popular culture. The narrative of breast cancer patients in popular culture- the myth that “attitude is everything,” the clichés of people with breast cancer who are consumed as both a source of courage and pity, the phrase that equates dying from cancer to “losing the battle against cancer”- unfairly burdens the patients with having to fit into the narrative. Critiquing literature that treats women’s illness as a sentimentalized tool for another character’s emotional turmoil, Boyer refuses to follow the common narrative form of cancer that ends with the protagonist’s survival or death. Boyer does not end the memoir with the end of her chemotherapy- instead, she excavates the reality of breast cancer by pointing out how the disease affects certain groups of people disproportionately, how the medical industry’s treatment of patients could be inadequate or even harmful, and how breast cancer is capitalized on. Her critique on how “Pinktober” profits from donations while doing little to improve the carcinogenosphere or develop a cure for breast cancer was startling, as it exposed the fact buying something with a pink ribbon on it might make you feel good about yourself, but actually worsens the problem. Boyer writes, “I would rather write nothing at all than propagandize for the world as is.” (116) By challenging the popular narrative about breast cancer, Boyer’s memoir urges readers to alter their perception of cancer as an unfortunate event that strikes an individual that either survives or doesn’t, and perceive the structures that cause more pain for the patients.