Obviously, cancer isn’t funny, and I’m not trying to belittle or trivialize how devastating it can be on you and your family, but there have been moments when it, as bizarre as it seems, has made me laugh. For example, I would always get a burning sensation in my mouth during chemo, and so one of the nurses recommended sucking on frozen pineapple cubes and grapes to help alleviate the discomfort. Even though my mouth was sore, it didn’t hurt to stuff it full of grapes, and it became this bizarre little challenge between me and other patients and whoever came with me to see how many grapes we could fit in. Even my mom and dad played along a few times.
I’m a singer, and for months I’ve been going nuts trying to figure out why my microphone wasn’t working properly, and just now I noticed something odd on it and pulled out this incredibly long strand of hair that somehow got trapped inside one of the tiny holes, and as gross as that is, it amused me. I never lost all my hair, but it did thin considerably, forcing me to cut off inches of it, and this hair that I found is incredibly long and most likely from when I was “shedding” at the end of my first cycle. That’s when I got this mic. Yeah, I know I’m being totally weird and juvenile to find this even remotely funny, but it just kinda is to me at this moment. I’d been so freaked out about losing my Rapunzelish hair back then, and now, after I’ve gone through everything else, all my teenage hysteria over hair sort of makes me want to mock my former self. I just find it funny in a bizarre way.
What about you? Has anything involving cancer ever made you laugh?
>.<
Sorry for the typos! Thanks for your answers! : )
Dave ~ I didn’t intend any offense at all. With the exceptional of losing loved ones, cancer has been the most difficult experience I’ve ever endured. It took a major physical, emotional, and spiritual toll on me at first, but finding the silver linings helped to keep me from sinking into a black hole of depression, and to pull me through. Humor enabled me to still feel like the teenager that I still am every once and while, and that was a relief.
Silliness is good for the soul at times.
Take care.
THANKS EVERYONE! : )
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I have a warped sense of humour, so found things to laugh at constantly.
Many of those relate to my bald head – the most obvious sign that something was wrong.
My brother was going through cancer treatment at the same time, and we found we have identical skull shapes, so there are photos of us pretending to be a totem pole, resting chin on top of others head and pulling funny faces and poses.
There was the time I was performing at a belly dancing exhibition, and my headdress would not stay in place, double sided tape saved the day!
There were the various silly hats, scarves and joke wigs I wore.
There was the family reunion I attended where a cousin was raving about the fashion statement I was making and how good I was looking – and the look on her face when I told her it was because I was going through breast cancer treatment (her mother fought breast cancer for 49 years, from 4 years before she was born and had died the year before).
There were the incredible artwork that my teenage daughter’s talented friends drew on my head with washable markers – their own private graffiti wall – and the row of dancing green condoms that one of her friends drew that I had to wash of before work the next day.
Smiling as I type this, it wasn’t all bad, but I wouldn’t choose to do it again.
I was sitting at work combing my fingers through my hair when I realized it was falling out in clumps. I gathered some up, tied a knot in them and asked if anyone wanted a relic.
My sister sent me the silliest card. Since you were such a great patient I asked the doctor to throw in a few implants. The card had balloons in it. She also sent me a T-Shirt that said “With a Body Like This Who Needs Hair” I wore it to work on casual Friday. That was 6 years ago.
Now, one of my co-workers is supposed to get her biopsy results on Monday. If it is bad news, we will probably have a good cry, and then I hope to be able to come up with something to make her giggle.
You’re funny!
At first I was a little offended by your question but I realize that you have gone through cancer and suffered it’s treatment. I have not had too many funny moments concerning cancer because I am constantly afraid it could come back.
What touched me are the people that cancer has bought into our lives, we have met some great people on the cancer journey. Sometimes it can be so bad you either cry or laugh or else go insane.
I hope you continue to use humor in your life because they say it is the best medicine.
I lost my dad to cancer last fall. My sister and I both moved back home to take care of him. It was easily the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and I wouldn’t have changed anything but the outcome.
Your question made me remember all the times that we laughed at the most bizarre things; things that I would, under normal circumstances, probably not even have given any thought. There are a million memories, but I’ll never again think of saline as anything other than “liquid potato chips”.
Thanks for the smile.
Best wishes
Yeah… black humor though.
When I was diagnosed as stage IV I went home and started selling ALL my personal possessions on eBay so my husband and children wouldn’t have to deal with it after my death. Then I found out you can live for years with stage IV neuroendocrine carcinoma.
Another time I ignored the nuclear med guys advice not to look at a scan until my doctor had the report and I saw what I was convinced was a brain metastasis. A week later I found out it was just my pituitary gland. Duh. Hilarious.