There’s broke, and then there’s “cancer-broke,” the level of financial suffocation that makes you feel like a gasping fish dumped onto a dry table covered in overdue bills.

Let’s get into this one.

The illustration is absurd on purpose:
A fish — utterly helpless, wildly out of its element — flopping around next to “PAYMENT DUE,” “COLLECTION NOTICE,” and “MEDICAL DEBT,” while still somehow attached to an IV line.

Because that’s exactly what paying for cancer feels like:
You’re surviving, but barely. You’re breathing, but badly. You’re alive, but the universe seems committed to making that as financially punishing as possible.

The Core Joke

The joke works because it perfectly captures the physical and emotional sensation of trying to stay afloat financially during treatment.

You’re hooked to machines.
You’re sedated.
You’re exhausted.
You’re terrified.
And right when you’re most vulnerable, the billing system rolls in and body-checks you.

Cancer care doesn’t pause because you’re broke.
Bills don’t delay because you’re scared.
Collections don’t slow down because you’re in chemo.

So you end up feeling exactly like this fish:
flailing, desperate, dehydrated, and staring at paperwork that might as well be written in a foreign language.

Why This Joke Hits Home

Because cancer patients aren’t imagining it — the finances are that brutal.

You’re paying for:

• appointments

• scans

• labs

• drugs

• parking

• specialists

• second opinions

• surgeries

• procedures

• supportive care

• random hospital charges that appear out of thin air

Meanwhile:

• income drops

• sick leave runs out

• savings evaporate

• credit cards cry

• and the system cheerfully sends more invoices

It’s the perfect storm of expense, vulnerability, and panic.

The Deeper Truth Beneath the Humor

The fish is a metaphor for the way cancer financially deoxygenates your life.

You’re still alive — but with significantly fewer resources than you need to survive.

And what’s wild is…
everyone pretends this is normal.

Hospitals pretend it’s normal.
Insurance companies pretend it’s normal.
Billing departments pretend it’s normal.

But cancer patients know the truth:
You’re not “financially irresponsible.”
You’re drowning in bills in a system that was not built for anyone who gets sick.

Final Thought

If you’ve ever opened a bill and felt your soul go temporarily offline…
If you’ve ever needed a nap after reading a statement…
If you’ve ever felt like your money is evaporating faster than your energy…

This joke is your oxygen.

Because sometimes you have to laugh at how absurdly, catastrophically expensive it is just to stay alive.