Humor and cancer can be powerful partners in dealing with cancer.
My wife and my daughter, who both developed cancer, were able to maintain their sense of humor and as a result made it easier for myself and family members to use humor around them.
Cancer patients have found that self cancer humor therapy can be useful in helping them through difficult and stressful times.
Some doctors actively use cancer humor therapy with patients to make them feel more at ease during the stressful and difficult times of treatment.
You need to give yourself permission to laugh. This is equally as important as giving yourself permission to cry.
The reason for this is that humor is an important defense mechanism and therefor can help people with cancer adjust to the stress of their illness and treatment.
Humor can create a sense of power in the process of adjusting to the reality of the illness. It can provide you with a sense of control during this difficult time in life.
Scientific studies have revealed and support a diverse number of physical, mental and psychological benefits derived from humor and laughter. Easing pain and stress are just some of them.
Humor helps people with cancer better cope with their illness by letting them address their situation in a non-threatening way. It is not possible to feel stressed and unhappy when you are laughing.
Humor and hope are complimentary to one another and provide a sense of perspective and a means to release inner emotions.
In a study done with adults who had a serious illness, over 50% said that humor helped them cope better with an otherwise overwhelming situation.More than 75% said that humor gave them hope.
Another study of a group of people with cancer found that their doctor's use of humor gave them hope.
There are a number of health care professionals who feel that hope may even assist the body in dealing with the cancer.
Humor and laughter help to ease the tension between the cancer patient, family and friends, by giving those around them permission to laugh and relax themselves at the same time.
So where can people with cancer find humor? Humor presents itself in everyday situations around them. Others find humor in books, videos, audios, CD's etc. There is no limit to the availability of humor sources, if one is prepared to look for them.
Humor and Cancer life examples of success
Julia Louis Dreyfus finds humor in cancer. She was diagnosed 12 hours after she won her sixth consecutive 'Emmy Award' for outstanding Lead actress in a comedy series for 'Veep' in September 2017.
She labeled it a 'Hilarious turn of events." Cancer isn't at all funny, but a big part of dealing with it has been finding the funny moments," she said.
"When i was getting my hideous chemotherapy, I'd cram a bunch of family and friends into this tiny treatment room with me, and we really dis have some great laughs.....of course I was heavily medicated, and slipping in and out of consciousness, so I was probably a pretty easy audience, but my point is that laughter is a basic human need along with love and food.
"There is no situation that isn't improved with a couple of laughs. So the fact that makes people laugh for a living is one of many blessings I have received in my life."
Deana Driver wrote the life story of Dionne Warner titled: 'Never leave your Wingman.' Dionne, for the past 15 years has been fighting not one, not two, but seven types of cancer.
Despite her battles with the various types of cancer, Dionne has maintained her sense of humor, and has been able to laugh in the face of adversity.
As Dionne quotes, "It's all about a message of hope and of having fun every moment of your life."
This is a Must Read! book for anyone touched by cancer.
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