Resume

How do I explain an empty resume? I'm trying to do a new one and although I've done a lot of interesting things, none of them seem to be resume worthy. My main occupation this last 5 years has been to heal. Doing my best to survive day to day also doen't quite seem resume worthy. I have a lot of experience in my life which does fit but it's all before the last 5. I'm a bit stumped on this one.

I feel like I wil have CANCER stamped on my forehead if I try and have an interview. I still stumble and stutter when I meet someone new and they "wonder what I do". When I tell them I'm an artist they always want to know, "do I make my living that way". And every time I'm not sure how to say, I've been knocked off my feet for the last 5 years due to having cancer and a bone marrow transplant.

There is always the caught in the headlights kind of look and the awkwardness that follows. They try and not let it show while I answer about some of the things I've been doing since then, which is what they asked about, and then the conversation trails off.

I let them meander away and then always wonder what I should have said instead. I somehow foresee this as how an interview would go. The interviewer feeling sorry or freaked about me.