Three Clues to Coping with Cancer

What are the three top clues to help you cope with cancer with humor? I'm here to share them with you today, my friend, on episode number nine of the Cancer and Comedy Podcast. So listen on, my friend. Listen on.

Cancer got you down, pretty grim, huh? How about a show that turns the grim into a grin? Way to go! You made it here to the Cancer and Comedy Podcast, the show to lift you up with hope and humor that heals. Now, here's your chief lift-her-upper, Dr. Brad Miller.

Hello, my friend, and indeed, welcome to Cancer and Comedy. I am Dr. Brad Miller. Now, I'm not a medical doctor; I have a Doctor of Ministry in Transformational Leadership. I'm a retired pastor, and I retired just a month or so before I was diagnosed with cancer, which led to surgery. My reaction was I had to laugh to keep from crying, and that led me to create this podcast, Cancer and Comedy. It's here to serve you and help you cope with cancer, healing through hope and humor, turning the grim into a grin. You can hear my full story in episode number one of this podcast at cancerandcomedy.com. I encourage you to check it out.

But right now, I am here and called to help you because I can. I've been coping with cancer and helping others do it throughout my whole ministry career. I have the credentials and the background to be helpful to you. I love a few other things; I like to read, I like to study, and I love to laugh. For instance, one of the things I love is quotes. I like this quote by Harriet Tubman, who was a great leader of the Underground Railroad during the Civil War era. She said, "Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world." Awesome, Harriet Tubman.

I'm also an old rock 'n' roll girl, DJ, and I love great classic rock and roll groups and singers and the messages in their songs. Bruce Springsteen is one of my favorites; I bet he's on your playlist as well. The song I'd like to talk about today regarding coping strategies for cancer is "Better Days," which first came out in 1992. It's about working through tough times and broken dreams, a rock ballad. The chorus says that better days are coming. I believe that if we shift our mental attitude and learn how to cope with cancer, we can believe that better days are indeed possible.

And I love to laugh, so here's my dad joke for the day: How much does it cost a pirate to get his ears pierced? About a buck an ear. Buccaneer. Get that one?

Hey, my friend, today's podcast is sponsored by the grand opening of the Cancer and Comedy Podcast, happening on Saturday, November 4, 2023. We are launching this podcast strong with a live comedy show, in person and live-streamed, at 7 o'clock pm in my hometown of Annapolis, Indiana. If you're in the area, check out our website, cancerandcomedy.com, for tickets. It will also be live-streamed on YouTube and Facebook. You can go to cancerandcomedy.com/live to find out how to connect with the live broadcast, which we do on a regular basis as well.

I look forward to that grand opening on November 4, 2023, at 7 o'clock pm Eastern Time. We'll be live-streaming on Facebook and YouTube, featuring Rick Roberts, a fantastic nationally known comedian who travels the country. He was in a movie called "Mayberry Man," and he's a great guy. Not only is he hilariously funny, but he's also a cancer survivor, and he incorporates that into his show. Join us on November 4, 2023, at 7 o'clock pm for the grand opening of the Cancer and Comedy Show.

Well, friends, our theme today is three things that can help you cope with cancer with humor in your life, and we like to say hope and humor go together. I was doing a little research on this, and there really are a lot of comedians who have made the story of overcoming something bad in their life a part of their comedy and part of their story. Some of you will remember Gilda Radner, who was on Saturday Night Live, the original cast member, diagnosed with cancer in 1986. She wrote a book about it called "It's Always Something," which was one of her catchphrases with her Roseanne Roseannadanna character. She talked in her book and her comedy about using humor and laughter to help her battle cancer; it helped her a lot and inspired other cancer patients.

Another person is Tig Notaro, an active comedian diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012, just days after her mother passed away. In her comedy routine, she addresses grief and illness, finding humor in the darkness with her dry wit. She's very honest and inspirational.

One more example is Norm Macdonald, also on Saturday Night Live, who battled cancer for nine years. He kept it mostly under wraps and even made light of his sickness when appearing on late-night shows. He joked, "I'm pretty sure if you die, the cancer also dies at exactly the same time."

These comedians, well-known in their own right, used humor as a coping mechanism for dealing with cancer. I'm a huge believer that hope and humor can help you get through tough times. Today, I'm giving you three clues to empower yourself with humor on your cancer journey.

Let me share a couple of things to consider. First, energy. You can choose how and where to use your energy. Cancer may zap your energy, so use it wisely. Both anger and joy, especially laughter, require energy. When you get mad, you get exhausted and often feel depressed afterward. However, when you laugh and find joy, you may still be tired, but you feel satisfied and content. So, choose how to use your energy wisely.

Second, balance. Cancer can bring a lot of bad stuff into your life, but don't dwell on it all day. Focusing on the negative can lead you into a dark and gloomy place. Balancing your life with humor and mirth can help you mentally and physically. It can steady you when cancer threatens to knock you off balance. Avoid dwelling on bad news, and instead, call someone you enjoy who won't focus on your disease. Watch comedy movies, read funny stuff, and fill your life with positivity.

The third thing is gaining perspective. Try to get some perspective on everything going on in your life, including your cancer journey.

You know, the reality is, whatever is going on with you, there's other stuff in the world, probably even among the people you know, that's a bit rougher to see. When you have cancer, you have the opportunity to see the world with fresh eyes as someone in this battle for your life, to be sure. Sometimes, with the right perspective, you can see that the small stuff is just too insignificant to deal with. Focus on the things that magnify and amplify your life.

Don't dwell on what you lack. Deal with the health that you have. Don't fret over your financial situation; handle the medical bills as they come and use the resources you have. Don't fixate on what's going wrong in your life; dwelling on it won't make it right.

You know, one thing my wife and I do is take a walk in the wooded trail near us almost every day when the weather's nice. It fills me with perspective and helps me appreciate nature and my place in it.

One day, not too long ago, we were on this trail walking, and a little kid, about three years old, a little boy, came up to us in a hurry to get on the trail. His parents were trailing behind. He passed us, said something like, "Hey, old man! Hey, old lady!" and ran off. My wife and I burst out laughing because it put things in perspective. I guess to him, we were an old man and an old lady, and his parents were right behind him. They were apologetic, but it was funny, and it kept us grounded in perspective.

I want to help you keep that perspective, too. When it comes to coping with your cancer, there are ways to do it. Remember, I'm a Doctor of Transformation. My doctoral degree is in Doctor of Ministry and Transformation, and I teach a free course that might be helpful to you. It's about facing your cancer situation with what I call the "Free Five-Day HHH Course," which stands for Healing with Hope and Humor.

I encourage you to check it out. It's straightforward. Just go to cancerandcomedy.com/free, and you'll receive it in your email. It's just 15 minutes a day, an audio course. It'll help you develop your own "Cancer and Comedy Coping Credo," a statement to guide your life. I share my own credo in the course and show you how to create one for yourself. It's a great step for you to take. Go to cancerandcomedy.com/free, and you'll have that course in your email inbox before you know it.

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Now, let's lighten things up a little with our "Cancer and Comedy" segment: Dr. Brad's Bad Joke of the Day.

My youngest son just left to finish graduate school at the University of Oregon on the west coast, all the way across the country from Indiana where we live. So it's a long trip, and we won't see him for a while. It reminded me of another family's situation where their 19-year-old daughter went off to college in a faraway state halfway across the country. This was in the days before email and the internet, quite a while ago. They used to get letters from their daughter, but the letters stopped coming.

Finally, right around the end of the semester, they received a letter that said something like this:

"Dear Mom and Dad,

I'm sorry I haven't written sooner, but my stationery was destroyed when the dorm burned down. I'm out of the hospital now, and I will recover fully soon, but I've moved in with the boy who rescued me since most of my things were lost in the fire. And Mom and Dad, remember how you've often talked about wanting a grandchild? Well, you'll be happy to know that I'm pregnant, and that will be happening soon. Love, Suzie.

P.S. Mom and Dad, there was no fire. My health is fine, and I'm not pregnant. I don't even have a boyfriend. But I did get a D in French and a C in math and chemistry. I just wanted you to keep everything in perspective."

Now, it's time to shift gears a bit for Dr. Brad's "Faith It or Break It" segment.

This is the faith part of our "Cancer and Comedy" podcast. As I mentioned, I'm a retired pastor, and I believe the faith element is essential for healing, hope, and humor. It may not interest some of you, but I believe it's a key element.

I want to share a little story from Scripture about perspective and coping, from Matthew 6:26:

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than they are?"

In this passage, Jesus tells us not to worry about our current situation, which includes all the worries His followers were experiencing. They had to deal with family issues, Roman oppression, political matters, and simply having enough to eat. Jesus advises them not to worry about the details of their lives. God values us more than animals and will provide for our every need. He wants us to have a perspective that puts our worries in their proper place.

This scripture reminds us that our troubles are temporary. It encourages us to rely on God's purposes, emphasizing that God is good and wants to take care of us, providing us with comfort. There are two essential takeaways from this passage.

First, what not to do: don't focus on the temporary stuff. Sometimes, when we have cancer, we realize that some things we once thought were valuable aren't as important as we once believed. Our perspective changes.

I recall a neighbor who was obsessed with his yard. While I like to keep my yard looking nice, this neighbor was over the top. He despised dandelions so much that he would pluck them and other weeds with tweezers from his yard. He even accused me of spreading dandelion seeds from my yard to his. It's essential to understand that investing excessive energy in temporary things can damage relationships.

So, what should you do? Focus on people and on God. Concentrate on relationships over stuff. Cancer can provide us with a more profound perspective, reminding us that time with our loved ones is precious. My recent experience moving my mother-in-law to an assisted care facility reinforced this. She had not purchased new furniture in over 35 years, emphasizing her prioritization of relationships and family over material possessions.

I invite you, my friend, to invest in what lasts—the eternal bonds with family and friends, your treasures in heaven. Additionally, invest in your relationship with God and cultivate godly characteristics like love, holiness, and integrity. Faith and unbreaking relationships mean investing in those people who are part of your eternal investment. Conversely, breaking involves focusing more on temporal things that are fleeting, like the flowers Jesus mentioned in the scripture. Consider what you want to do, my friend.

It's like getting punched in the nose, you know? It's like, whoa, they got my attention now. So let's get it taken care of. It was upsetting and all, but literally, I had one full day of sadness, depression, and worry. Then I prayed for probably two hours at night. From there on, I just thought, whatever happens, happens. I did all the things you do before major surgeries, like making a list of all my passwords in case the robotic arm goes haywire, the power goes off, or the Wi-Fi disconnects from this robot. I mean, why do I even have a MySpace password? CompuServe, what's going on here? My wife said, "You can just delete these." I organized all my folders, wrote letters to everybody in case I didn't come back from it, and all these things, but...

Now, it's time for our "Cancer and Comedy" featured segment, as we hear from our lifter-uppers. Did you know that you can be on "Cancer and Comedy" as a lifter-upper listener with your uplifting story about your cancer journey? Just go to voicemail.cancerandcomedy.com.

Our listener lifter-upper story today is from Rick Roberts, our featured guest comedian at our Cancer and Comedy.com live event called "Clean Comedy Cancer Benefit" on November 4th. He's also going to be a guest on an upcoming episode of the Cancer and Comedy Podcast. So let's listen to what Rick has to share about his history.

It's like getting punched in the nose. You know, it's like, okay, I've got my attention now. So let's get it taken care of. It was upsetting and all, but literally, I had one full day of just sadness, depression, and worry. Then I prayed probably two hours at night. And from there on, I just thought, whatever happens, happens. I did all the things you do before major surgeries, started making a list of all my passwords in case the robotic arm goes haywire, the power goes off, or the Wi-Fi disconnects from this robot. I mean, why do I even have a MySpace password? CompuServe, what's going on here? My wife said, "You can just delete these." I did all those things, made folders, everything, wrote letters to everybody in case I didn't come back from it, and all these things, but...

Well, that's Rick, Rick Roberts. He's going to be our guest, and that's just a little piece of his story. I wanted to note, again, that our grand opening of the Cancer Comedy Podcast is happening on November 4th, 2023, at 7 o'clock PM Eastern Time. We're having a live comedy show featuring Rick, who you just heard right there, sharing a bit of his history. He's not only a fantastic comedian but also a cancer survivor, and he incorporates that into his story. The good news is, if you live in the Indianapolis area, you can come and be a part of it live. Tickets are available right now at cancerandcomedy.com/events. But for everyone listening, you can check it out via live stream. We do regular live streams here at Cancer Comedy, and on that night, we're having the grand opening of the Cancer Comedy Podcast with a live stream of this benefit event for cancer. It's at 7 o'clock PM Eastern Time on Saturday, November 4th. You can catch the live stream on our YouTube and Facebook pages and group. You can find all the information at cancerandcomedy.com/live. That's where you can go.

Well, my friend, that brings us to the end of this episode of Cancer and Comedy.com. If you've been with us this long, you must like us well enough to stick around to this point. So I really would like for you to do something for me, and that is to make sure you go to cancerandcomedy.com/follow. That's where you can follow our podcast on Apple and all the other places you can find us, and then share that good news with other people so they can be a part of the Cancer and Comedy family here. You can also check out our newsletter, which is where I have regular updates on everything happening with Cancer and Comedy. It's called the Cancer and Comedy Chronicles, and that's at newsletter.cancerandcomedy.com. So please follow and share with other people. Great to be with you, my friend. I'm Dr. Brad Miller, here to serve you and help you cope with cancer through healing with hope and humor. Until next time, my friend, this is indeed Dr. Brad Miller, reminding you that a cheerful heart is good medicine.

Hey, thanks for joining us on the Cancer and Comedy podcast with Dr. Brad Miller. Make sure you visit our website, cancerandcomedy.com, where you can follow the show and get our newsletter. Like what you hear? Then tell a friend about Cancer and Comedy, the show that lifts your spirits with hope and humor that heals. Until next time, keep turning the grim into a grin.