Abbott and Costello and Breast Cancer

My husband has kept me laughing throughout our marriage, and we’ve had a fun life together. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010 after finding a suspicious lump, I didn’t shed a tear. Instead, I asked my dear hubby to keep me laughing. Humor would get us through this treatment and healing process.

He took his assignment seriously. All negative input was taboo; no nightly news, no depressing movies, no sad television programs. We watched comedies and more comedies. When I began chemotherapy, I spent most of my days lying on the sofa. That’s when he went online and ordered me a set of vintage Abbott and Costello movies.

Each evening we watched Bud and Lou, laughing at their routines and antics. Predictable and corny? Perhaps. But I chortled and giggled through every one. There were the military movies, like Buck Privates and In the Navy, and the creature features, like Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy. Mystery comedies like Hold That Ghost and Who Done It? featured other talents of the era, such as Joan Davis and Don Porter, respectively. In Time of Their Lives, Abbott portrays a psychiatrist haunted by the ghost (Costello) of his ancestor’s nemesis. Some of the gags were the same, but they didn’t get old. Good classic comics.

Laughter is good medicine. I breezed through chemo without getting horribly sick, and then I weathered thirty-five radiation treatments. My attitude stayed positive and my husband kept me laughing about things like hair loss and his less-than-stellar cooking skills. My friends and family supported my humor therapy by sending funny cards and e-mailing jokes or cartoons.

Soon I completed all treatment and gradually regained my health. My doctors seem pleased with my progress, especially when I passed the two-year mark. I may not be out of the woods yet, but I’m optimistic. I give credit to the comedies that keep me laughing and positive.

Joking aside, do those monthly self-exams and annual mammograms. You have a one-in-eight chance of having breast cancer in your lifetime.

Cheryl Norman celebrated two years as a cancer survivor in 2012. She is the author of romantic suspense novels, including the Mustang Sally series RESTORE MY HEART, RECLAIM MY LIFE, and REBUILD MY WORLD, and RUNNING SCARED and the upcoming RUNNING OUT OF TIME. She also writes cookbooks, including RECIPES FOR RECOVERY. Visit cherylnorman.com for more information.

 

 

Next up to the plate...
October 17 - Sherri Fulmer Moorer
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