Can A Sense of Humor Help Cancer Patients & Caregivers Cope Better?

NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES and LONDON, Sept. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — For anyone who has been touched by cancer, it is no laughing matter, or is it? To tickle funny bones in the chemo room, radiation, surgery, and even hospice, The ComedyCures Foundation and Founder Saranne Rothberg, a stage IV cancer survivor, are launching a free humorous month-long “Can We Laugh At Cancer Comedy Challenge?” on October 1st.

“We created this feel-good October comedy experience for patients, survivors, caregivers, researchers, and oncology teams in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month because research shows that finding the funny in one’s cancer journey and developing a comic perspective are powerful stress management coping strategies.” explains Rothberg who founded The ComedyCures Foundation from her chemo chair in 1999 and is still cancer-free.

ComedyCures suggests that in addition to laughing at their daily posts that you may want to:

Start a ComedyCures Humor Journal and document things that make you laugh and bring you joy – including favorite comics, funny friends, humorous shows
Write down your reaction to each daily ‘Tumor Humor’ post
Try to make each post funnier or more specific to you
Start recording the funny things that you hear and experience on your medical journey (as a patient or caregiver or staff) no matter how awkward or painful
Find a Humor Buddy and make a Daily Appointment to Laugh where you share humor (e.g., our ComedyCures posts, a cartoon, meme, gif, stand-up video, funny show, personal story)
Visit @ComedyCures on social media and share your humor with us
Call the free 24-hour ComedyCures LaughLine 1-888-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha to hear professional comedy, an amateur joke or tell us a joke

To help kick-off this October ‘Funnyraiser’ an anonymous donor will contribute $10 to the non-profit ComedyCures Foundation every time someone shares and likes one of Rothberg’s daily ‘Tumor Humor’ postings on ComedyCures social media, up to $20,000. So not only will the laughter challenge raise spirits daily, it will raise necessary funding to support more free live and digital ComedyCures programming for patients and caregivers. (The Foundation hopes that many others will be inspired to match, donate and/or invite friends to share posts since the not-for-profit will not be able to gather for its live annual fall comedy fundraiser because of the pandemic.)

The comedy used in this challenge was authentically drawn from Rothberg’s 3 cancer surgeries, 44 radiation treatments and years of chemotherapy plus from many oddball medical experiences of others that made her laugh over two decades of survivorship. She often shares these stories during live ComedyCures performances, keynotes, and workshops. Rothberg took her personal collection of “Tumor Humor” to White Label Comedy, a witty group of British comedy and copy writers, whom she followed on social media to see if her cancer-based comedy could have an impact on patients and caregivers around the globe on social media.

The agency’s Creative Director Adam Hunt recounts, “Saranne came to us with her funny, yet at times simultaneously painful, cancer experiences and innovative ‘Tumor Humor’ Challenge and we couldn’t resist collaborating and helping The ComedyCures Foundation lift spirits, and to hopefully attract donors and sponsors to support their free, award-winning therapeutic comedy programs for the ill and underserved.”

Rothberg loved the collaboration and added, “Our posts range from hilarious to silly to poignant. We are all overjoyed to bring more laughter into the world during this stressful pandemic, especially to people on a cancer journey. My sense of humor helped me stay resilient and positive during my stage IV cancer battle. Of course some people may not be ready to laugh during the 31-day challenge and that’s okay. Our ‘Tumor Humor’ will be available online when they are ready to tickle their funny bone.”

If you would like to experience “The ComedyCures 31-Day Cancer and Comedy Challenge” for free on social media, join @sarannelive and @comedycures on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn. If you would like to support the free programs of The ComedyCures Foundation or learn more, www.ComedyCures.org and www.Saranne.com.