Saranne Rothberg and her daughter Lauriel instruct cancer patients to laugh.

They All Laughed

In 1999, at the age of 35, Saranne Rothberg was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer. Today, she's the head of The ComedyCures Foundation, an organization that brings humor to terminally and chronically ill people through, among other things, DVDs, joke books, therapeutic comedy events, and "Laughing Lunches." Rothberg is also working at making designated laughing areas in children's hospitals and has started a free laugh line (1-888-HA-HA-HA-HA) that people can call to hear a quick joke if they need a pick-me-up. Her motto is: "Live, Laugh, Love."

"Live, Laugh, Love," is Rothberg's slogan.

"People said things like 'Are you sure you have cancer? Why are you so happy?'"

How did Rothberg go from patient to pioneer?

We asked her.

What was the first thing you did when you got your diagnosis?

I went straight to Blockbuster from the hospital! I literally got every stand-up comedy tape they had. In college, I'd read Anatomy of an Illness by Norman Cousins. Cousins was seriously ill, but discovered that if he was watching comedy movies, he didn't feel pain. He basically laughed himself to health.

So you just started laughing right away?

No. First I got home and collapsed on the floor crying. But then I saw this stack of comedy tapes, so I put in Eddie Murphy's Delirious. Here I was sobbing from my inner soul and suddenly it turned into laughter. There's a fine line between hysterical tears and laughter.

You're a single mother - what was your daughter's reaction?

I asked her to become my "Humor Buddy." She was 5. We made a list of things that made us laugh and we agreed we'd do two things on it every day, like come to dinner with silly hats on or tell each other jokes. It made it go from a house where someone has less than a 5-year life expectancy to a place of joy.

How did other people react?

People said things like, "Are you sure you have cancer? Why are you so happy?" While getting my first chemo treatment, I threw a "Chemo Comedy" party for myself, friends, and family, and we watched stacks of comedy tapes. I remember a nurse said, "Wait! Pause the tape! I have to go give an injection, but I don't want to miss the punch line!" The whole spirit of the place had lifted.

You were found to be free of cancer in 2002. Do you think laughter cured you?

Comedy taught me that I could still laugh. It gave me strength to fight this disease with humor. I had to take certain treatments, but I could "choose joy" or "not joy" in each situation, and that is how laughter empowered me.

What's the main thing ComedyCures brings to people?

You walk away from our events with the sense that you can consciously start living a joyful day from morning to night. When you experience the hope and vitality that people feel during our programs, you feel immortal.

Posted on June 12, 2006