Max Ritvo, Poet Who Chronicled Life With Cancer, Dies At 25

LOS ANGELES – Max Ritvo, a poet who chronicled his life with terminal cancer in works that were both humorous and searing, has died. He was 25. Ritvo died Tuesday morning at his home in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles, his mother, Ariella Ritvo-Slifka, said Friday. Ritvo was diagnosed at 16 with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare cancer that affects bones and soft tissue in children and young adults. Treatment brought about a remission that permitted Ritvo to finish high school and attend Yale University, where he performed in an improv comedy group.