Tig Notaro Chronicles Cancer Battle In 'Masterful' Standup Comedy Routine

Notaro was welcomed to the stage by Ed Helmes ("The Office") and opened by saying,"Thank you, thank you, I have cancer, thank you, I have cancer, really, thank you."

The funny woman revealed that she has cancer in both breasts and talked about her recent battles with numerous health issues for the duration of the show.

Fellow standup comedian Kira Hesser took to her blog at the Huffington Post to recap the performance, which she dubbed "a historic moment in comedy.

"For the first half of her set, even though she was telling the story in perfect grace and humor, I couldn't laugh," wrote Hesser. "For the second half, for the first time in my life, as far as I can recall, I genuinely laughed and cried at the exact same time, bewildered at the tragedy and the remarkably calm, clever prism through which she assessed her terrible set of circumstances."

Hesser was not alone in her astonishment.

"In 27 years doing this, I've seen a handful of truly great, masterful standup sets. One was Tig Notaro last night at Largo," tweeted Louis C.K.

According to MSN, Notaro received a standing ovation following the performance.

During the July 31 episode of her Professor Blastoff podcast, while she was still awaiting an exact diagnosis, Notaro talked about the health scare: "...about a year ago I noticed what would be a lump in my teet, and I have been just thinking of course that it's nothing ... a week or two ago I went in to get my first mammogram," she said. "... based on already being hospitalized with a deadly illness and my mother dying, there was just no way they were going to come in and tell me anything but, 'Ok, everything looks great!' ... And the doctor came in and her tone was very scary ... she said "Ok, so, we have found something in both breasts."

On Aug. 4, a rep for the 41-year-old confirmed that she had cancer.

Her illness is one of many tragedies that she has endured within the last three months. She has battled a life-threatening bacterial infection in her digestive tract, endured a breakup, and lost her mother after she died in a tragic fall.

 Vulture notes that Notaro's brave move is a welcome relief from the recent standup controversies surrounding Daniel Tosh, who came under fire after making a rape joke, and Dane Cook, who joked about the Aurora, Colo., shooting barely a week after the incident.