Laughter is the best medicine

THE subject of humour and its healing powers has been written about, researched, analaysed, recommended and embraced since the beginning of time. With "alternative therapy" as the buzz word of the 1990s, I like to think of laughter as a "complimentary therapy" in conjunction with traditional and alternative medicines for the new millennium.

Yet I am often asked, "Christine, I can't think of a single thing that is humorous about a cancer experience." When someone makes that observation, I challenge them to close their eyes and think about: what is the number one thing that makes you laugh?

I hope that just thinking about laughter brings a smile to your face. There are all kinds of things that make me laugh: animals, children, jokes, memories, visual stimulation, even awkward situations. I remember the time I was at a professional golf tournament in the United States watching my three idols in golf tee off: Jack Nicklaus, Raymond Floyd and Tom Weiskopf. A gust of wind came up and blew my hat (and hair!) right off my head into the middle of the fairway. The gallery went silent as I slipped under the ropes, wandered into the middle of the course, grabbed my wig and hat and turned to the golfers. "Gentlemen," I offered, "The wind is blowing left to right."

They say the laughter could be heard all the way back to the clubhouse, and I realised that once again, laughter is the best medicine.

Webster defines laughter as "that which expresses amusement, mirth, contempt, fear by inarticulate, explosive sounds which result from the forcing out of air from the lungs, usually accompanied by convulsive muscular movements, especially of the face." If I did not know better, I would say that is what I used to look like when I was going through chemotherapy!

Certainly laughter is not an emotion that most people think of when they try to define dealing with a cancer experience. However, the process it takes to get through treatment for cancer is a long process: usually a minimum of six months to often years. If you do not find laughter in that amount of time, you will dry up.

Think about how you feel when you laugh ... you feel pleasure; you feel release; you feel good; you feel satisfied; you feel happy; you feel healthy; you want to do it again!

The other day an elderly gentleman, completely bald from chemotherapy, approached me and asked, "Christine, do you notice anything different about me?"

"No I can't say that I do," I offered. With that he replied, "I've parted my hair on the other side!"

Take time every day to share a funny story, a joke, a happy memory. And don't forget to laugh! Enjoy the brilliant colours of Fall.

CHRISTINE K. CLIFFORD

The writer is founder/ CEO/ president of The Cancer Club. She is the author of Not Now... I'm having a No Hair Day! The web address is www.cancerclub.com and e-mail address, canclub@primenet.com.

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