 I don’t know about you, but I felt like all of the crazy, zaney, hilarious misadventures of my life came to a screeching STOP! when I was diagnosed with cancer. Rather than waking up after a night of hard partying to find a cold, half-eaten slice of pizza in my purse (true story), I was spending my days engaged in deep soul-searching sessions and hour-long conversations about the meaning of life with everyone from my doctor to my cousin to the person in the stall next to me in the ladies’ room. At night, I logged some serious hours researching doctors, hospitals, and my type of cancer. I listened to endless hours of Musak while hold with the insurance company, took lots of naps, and just generally worried about the future. Clearly, this was not how I envisioned life at 26.
Looking back on it, there were entire months after my diagnosis where I didn’t laugh once. Not once! (Ok, so maybe I chuckled at some lame joke while watching Everybody Loves Raymond in the hospital waiting room, but that was more of a pity laugh than a true guffaw).
Of course, cancer takes a while to process—and rightfully so. But the one thing I needed most after all that processing was something to distract me from cancer and allow me to be a goofy twenty-something again. I’ve noticed that I, as well as most of my peers, deal with the ups and downs of life by enlisting a little humor or sarcasm. It doesn’t mean that we’re the jaded, misguided, “me” generation that the media claims we are – it’s just our way of coping.
Surely, I thought, my fellow young adult cancer survivors would be out there laughing in cancer’s face, right? (After all, we can’t expect grandpa to be crackin’ jokes about how testicular cancer has turned him into the Uni-Baller, or a five year-old to come up with a more original line than, “Orange you glad I didn’t say banana?”). As it turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong! Of the many cancer websites, discussion boards, and books I’d read, only one tried to incorporate humor. Other websites on laugh therapy seemed like they were written by our parents, or copied out of those joke books you buy at the check-out line of grocery stores.
So, I started collecting some funny tidbits here and there. I want to share those with you now, in the hopes that someone out there will see them and break that awkward, depressing waiting room silence with a good chuckle, or at least find some pleasant distraction from the heaviness of it all–even if it’s just for a few minutes. After all, if cancer has taught me anything, it’s that every minute counts. So why not spend ‘em laughing?
Below are some links to what I found. If you have any others, please share them, too.
Fainting Goats
The Half-Million Dollar Shot
Emoticon War: SuperNews!
Gladys on the Ellen Show
Awkward Family Photos: Curly
Awkward Family Photos: Anything for the Shot
Dramatic Chipmunk
Baby Beyonce
Contributed by, survivor, Amanda Pope.
 Detroit’s Comedy All-Stars Brett Kline, Nate Fridson, Ben Konstantin and Jeff Dwoskin are coming together to bring you a stellar night of comedy!
UPDATE:
We are happy to announce “Big Al” from WOMC’s Dick Purtan and Purtan’s People show will be our celebrity MC!!!
Proceeds benefit IA!
When? Tuesday, June 29, 2010 @ 8pm
Where? Joey’s Livonia (www.kickerscomplex.com)
How Much? $15/ticket
21+
UPDATE:
25% off meal @ Kicker’s before the show with reservations
1/2 off pizza during the show.
Advance Sales – How to get your tixs:
We are doing advance ticket sales – email jeff@jeffisfunny.com with the amount of tickets you would like to reserve. You will receive an email back with an address to send your check and you will be mailed tickets for the event!
Enjoy an evening benefitting IA in my hometown!
 Today I met with Dr. Howard Kaufman, who 3 months ago moved from Columbia Presbyterian Cancer Center in NY and became the new Director of the Cancer Center at Rush U. Cancer Center – WHAT a GOOD GUY!!!! Dr. Kaufman is much younger than I imagined, and I was very impressed as he showed me blueprints of his vision of the cancer center. His vision is to make the cancer center much more cohesive – first by moving all the parts of the cancer center to the 10th floor. What a great idea!!!
Those of you who know me well know that I LOVVVVVVVVVVE anything that brings people tighter together, that increases interpersonal contact, that increases collaboration, anything where more and more people work more closely together with a common goal: make the cancer world a better place!!!
Dr. Kaufman’s vision with certainly keep the physician’s working more closely together, which is a big positive, but it also increases the likelihood that cancer fighters and survivors will be sitting near each other and just happen to start talking and become FRIENDS!! Isn’t that what Imerman Angels really is after all? It’s all about FRIENDSHIPS where a person helps another person – people who share a bond are simply helping each other – so that EVERY one of us can find their way to that finish line and win their lives back from cancer!!! That’s what it’s all about in my mind.
Hats off to Dr. Kaufman who I believe is off to a great start!!!
Dr. Kaufman gets it – and his first vision illustrates it clearly in my mind.
The closer we are to each other, the more we share with each other, the more we collaborate – the better off EVERYONE will be. This is what the cancer world needs – I am certain of that!!!
I wish everyone well!!!!
Jonny
 We currently have about 100 runners hitting the streets March 21 to run the Shamrock Shuffle in support of Imerman Angels!
We are still in need of several more volunteers to help out with the Chicago Shamrock Shuffle. Please pass this information along to anyone you know who may be interested!
Post Race Party Beer Tent Volunteers
Position Description: The Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle Post-Race Party is the runner celebration that follows the conclusion of the 8K run in Grant Park, and features live music, food and beverages. Imerman Angels volunteers will be staffing the beer tent for the Shamrock Shuffle Post Race Party with all the tips benefitting Imerman Angels.
Number of Volunteers Needed: 160
Location: Grant Park, Chicago
Date: Saturday, March 21
Time: 8:30am – 1:30pm
Qualifications: Volunteers for these roles need to be 21 years old. This opportunity is open to people not yet registered as a volunteer with Imerman Angels so friends, family, colleagues, etc., who are 21 years old, can sign up to volunteer!
To sign up to volunteer, please email imermanactive@imermanangels.org.
All volunteers will be invited to a post race celebration party at Bull and Bear on Sunday evening starting at 5pm.
Start the weekend with Imerman Angels at the Spring Fling on March 18th and finish the weekend with us at the Shamrock Shuffle!
 I stay positive by simply going outside. Over the course of my life I have realized that if I can just convince myself to put down my work, life, tv, book or car and force myself to wander into the outdoors I will be completely present and the worries of everyday life seem to fade. I attribute so much of this to the fact that nature doesn’t care about my troubles, my work or my challenges. She treats me the same as everyone and everything else that comes along. There is something very rewarding about that. Because of this I have spent the better part of my life fishing, hiking, camping, kayaking, skiing, hunting or just simply sitting outside. When I’m there, I’m present and when I’m present, troubles are not.
It is for these reasons that I started First Descents. I wanted to create an outlet to share the positivity the outdoors brought to my life with others whose troubles were probably far greater than mine and their access to being outside might not be as available as mine. I figured that if nature treated everyone the same and that treatment could provide a place free of troubles then maybe young adults with cancer could really benefit from being out there together.
At the end of the day it’s not always the easiest thing to do- force yourself to leave life as you know it and go outside, but I can say that I have never regretted my decision to go and always come back a happier, healthier, fuller and more present version of myself that I was before I left.
Young adult? Got cancer? Get outside! First Descents has free spots available on a variety of outdoor adventures. Check out www.firstdescents.org or email info@firstdescents.org for more details!
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