Cate Blanchett to star in HBO's "Cancer Vixen"

Cate Blanchett poses for photographers at the European premiere of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" on Dec. 12, 2012, in London. / Getty

Cate Blanchett is taking on the c-word -- cancer, that is.

The Oscar-winning actress has been tapped to star in an upcoming HBO feature film adaptation of Marisa Acocella Marchetto's best-selling memoir, "Cancer Vixen: A True Story," Deadline reports.

The 43-year-old actress was most recently seen in "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" and is currently filming "The Monuments Men" with George Clooney and Matt Damon.

First published in 2006, Marchetto's graphic memoir took a lighthearted spin to the author's own real-life experiences as a recently-engaged cartoonist who lived a glamorous Manhattan lifestyle until she discovered she had breast cancer. "Cancer Vixen" is told through Marchetto's comic strip-style illustrations, with plenty of imagery to inspire filmmakers behind the HBO film adaptation, still in its earliest stages of development.

In addition to starring as Marchetto, Blanchett will also serve as an executive producer along with Celine Rattray and Sting's wife Trudie Styler. The filmmakers are still in the process of finding a writer for the adaptation.

No word yet on an expected air date.

Since the release of her memoir, Marchetto has set up a "Cancer Vixen FUNd" to help provide free mammograms and breast screenings to under-and-uninsured women.