When Cancer Strikes, Comedy Heals

Hey there lifter-uppers. I'm Deb Krier, the co-host of Cancer and Comedy, where our mission is to heal cancer impacted people through hope and humor, something we like to call turning the grim into a grin. Well, today on Cancer and Comedy, we're going to be talking about the story of Eyal Eltawil, who is an author and a comedian from Israel, and he talks about when cancer strikes, comedy heals. So now here is the host of the Cancer and Comedy podcast, Dr Brad Miller.

Hey, Deb, good to see you and good to connect up with all our lifter-uppers is here on a beautiful day when we can talk about things that can uplift us even when we have had bad things happen to us. Here on cancer and comedy, we like to talk about how when something bad like cancer happens, that is kind of the grim situation in life, and we got to deal with it, but we don't have to stay stuck there.

We'd like to talk about the grins when we have a fulfilled life that is full of possibilities and wonderment, and so that's what we do here. We like to help our lifter upper is to connect with us and with other members of the community of people who have chosen not to give up on life and to treat life as an opportunity for great things to happen. And we have a community of people, and we love the people to connect with us at our Community Cancer and comedy.com/follow Hey, Deb, got a couple of dad jokes for you. You ready for ‘em?

I'm ready.

Why can't Cinderella play basketball?

I don't know.

She's always running away from the ball.

Cute, cute.

One more for you. What do you call an old snowman? Water.

I don't know. I was gonna think slush. But okay.

There you go.

I love it. Well, as folks who listen to our podcast know, following our conversation, you're going to want to stick around for another one of Dr Brad's bad jokes of the day. But then, of course, we have our very serious and important faith It or Break It segment. Well, as Brad mentioned, we would love for you to be part of our cancer and comedy community, where together we crush cancer with a message of how to cope with hope and humor. Please follow cancer and comedy. At Cancer and comedy.com/follow.

Well, Hey, Deb, we say the name of our podcast is Cancer and Comedy. So from time to time, we have a connection with comedians, and sometimes comedians who have had their own cancer journeys. And what I like to do, what we like to do from time to time, is kind of review the story of some actual comedians, professional comedians, who've had dealt with cancer one form or another. And we ran across this comedian from Israel named Eyal. And he, at age 31, was diagnosed with just a really, you know, stage four level of cancer, and it was pretty significant in his life.

And he outlines his journey, and in some materials that we took a look at, and we're going to talk about that here today, about how he chose to cope with it by having the best good attitude that he could have. And also basically the videotape, everything that he was about, but basically what he saw, the results were as he saw even cancer. As you know, when the theme of our conversation with him, he strikes comedy heals. And so one of the things he did to help that healing process happen is do something that you do, which is give a name to his cancer. So give me some of your reactions to learning about Eyal.

Well, you know, so we listened to a TED talk that he gave, and it was very interesting, because he is a stand-up comedian. And so he talked in there about, you know, sometimes people don't want to hear the word cancer, right? And so he named it. And so he named his cancer Simon, and I just thought that was so funny, because, of course, my mind immediately went to Simon Says, but yeah, I named my cancer. You know, when I was first diagnosed, they kept saying I had artifacts. Right now, that's just a weird thing to say. You know, it wasn't a lump, it wasn't a bump, it wasn't a tumor, it was artifacts. So, of course, I named my cancer Artie.

That's right, that's right, if you talked about that before here and so you'll refer to his cancer assignment. And so when you talk to his friends or colleagues, or even in his comedy routines, he would refer to it as Simon, to give it a little bit of identity, I guess, there and understand that was kind of both his in a way, an adversary, but also a way, just something that he had with him all the time. Because he also saw cancer, not just as some overwhelming thing out there, even though it was life threatening, to be sure, but he saw it as a life-giving gift. And I just thought that was kind of interesting for what he did. You know, the perception would be that cancer would be the Doom, Doom scroll thing, but it gave him some opportunities. So where do you think about some of his talk about some of the opportunities that cancer gave him?

Well, you know, he obviously mentioned the fact that if it hadn't been for cancer, he wouldn't be giving that TED talk, right, you know. And so, you know, he talks about getting good from bad. And I really like that, because, you know, his, his thing is, as you mentioned, it's all about the attitude, you know, he was given a 5% chance of recovery, and, you know, he basically went well, phooey on that, you know, and, and, but I did love that he videotaped his meetings with his oncologist. He showed them during his TED talk, and, you know, one of them was him getting the absolute worst news possible.

And then the fun thing was, later on, they were saying, well, we don't find anything anymore, you know, and, and, so I just, I really liked that he was so open about doing that, and, but I did wonder, you know, at the very Why did he think, gee, maybe I should record this, you know, and, and so. But yeah, it was just, it was just his way of dealing with it.

Yeah, well, I think it was his way of dealing with everybody has to have their own thing. But yeah, also he recorded, he chose to be vulnerable, right? Because, when he went into these meetings with his oncologist, you know, I don't think he knew exactly what would happen, but he recorded this, and he recorded a lot of his comedy shows and interactions with his friends and out to, you know, out doing other activities and things of that, of that nature.

But he chose to be vulnerable, to open himself up to others in a bigger stage, as you said to others, by posting things on YouTube and things like that, to kind of show real life. And he went to the lowest of the lows, being basically told there's like, like, I said, 5% chance of survival. Then later on, the thrill of having basically being showed that he was essentially cured of his cancer. And so you have the highs and the lows here. And I think all of us that go through cancer, other bad things in life, have our highs and lows.

And he just shows to show that. And not all, not all of us do, but I think it shows us that we are not our illness. Are we? We are not our illness. And he's kind of shown that he's a man of emotion, a man of many facets here, and he got in that part of it. He goes, he tries to show us the distinction between being a sick person and a person with a sickness. Go there with me for a minute. There. Deb, what is your understanding what he meant about that? And what do you think about that distinction a sick person and a person with a sickness?

Yeah, I think it comes back to what his identity is, you know, he, he was Yule first and foremost, and having cancer was just a small part of him, you know, and he refused to let it take over his life. And, you know, I think that was, was very important in his TED talk, he includes, you know, videos featuring his friends, because he talked about how grateful he was for their support, you know. And then I love he, you know, he did turn it into a book. To be honest, I haven't read it. I have ordered it from Amazon, but it's called the cancer that died of laughter, a healing journey with the aid of humor. And he really did think that humor was what was going to get him through whatever he was facing.

And he was, he really leaned into this notion, which is what you and I do here as well, that humor does make a difference. It does make a difference. And there's cursors cycle, scientific studies of this about the relation of endorphins and all that type of thing. But he leaned into it big, big time, and it was his way of taking control. And I think for all of us, this has to do with a perspective that we can take some control of how we react. We are we react to this is perspective, is it not?

It is definitely, you know, perspective, attitude, whatever you know. And he did talk about there were bad times, but you know, then, then he chose to say, okay, I'm gonna find the humor in this, and I'm gonna laugh about it.

Yeah, and also, part of this is he saw some kind of unexpected benefits, or unexpected silver linings. As it were, he found that the benefits came out of his illness, out of his deepening of his relationships, a began to understand the science of this a little bit more. And so what do you think are some ways we all can look for a little bit of a silver lining, or some benefits out of something so catastrophic as cancer?

Well, there's always silver linings. I mean, look, you and I would have not met if it was the fact that both of us had cancer, right? And so, you know, there, there are changes. I lost friends when I was diagnosed. They could not. Would not, did not want to deal with it. And while that was a surprise and a shock, I've you know, I thought, well, obviously that friendship was done, but I gained the support of people who I didn't even think knew I existed.

And I think that's been one of the coolest things about my journey, has been the support that I have from people, you know, and now part of that is because I'm so I'm kind of like you all. I'm very open and talking about what's going on this journey. But then people are like, what can we do to help you? And some of them, just knowing that they're there, rooting for me is enough. And then there have been others that obviously have gone way above and beyond. But yeah, the support that I have received and the love and the caring, I think that's been, to me, the greatest thing. So what about you?

Well, I would just say that it's important that we find our victories where we can and that, I think you'll gives us an indication of this. He said towards the end of his TED Talk that even if he hadn't survived the cancer, it would be he would still have victory in the sense of gaining a new perspective, a new appreciation of life, appreciation of his friends, appreciation of medicine, all these type types of things, and that is life's greatest challenge. And he felt that he really had healing from the humor, even if he hadn't have survived. And I think here's part of what I feel, and this comes from my perspective in life overall.

And I think it also is a bit of a faith based perspective that you want to live your life to the fullest with an expectation and gratitude no matter what your what your situation is, and if you what's the alternative is to is to be depressed, to be a pain in the rear, to yourself and others, to be that, that person who brings other people down, and live in the you know, live in misery. And there are many people who do this.

And what point is that I think the people that I've been around, who have been, you know, delightful people, even towards the very end, are the ones that I appreciate in my life. And I certainly, you know, just not too long ago, I was having a talk with my own mother, and we were talking about end of life stuff we're just planning. She's in her late 80s, and she's in good health, but we were making we do this once a year or so. We have a conversation about end of life issues. And, you know, some of the things, celebration of life and that, that type of thing. And I just think that's what you want to do.

And when we get a diagnosis like cancer, it can be devastating, to be sure, because we deal with all the profound, the profoundness of the illness and end of life and any number of things, but we don't, but we can choose to not stay there, and we can live in victory, and we can be remarkable no matter what you'll talk about his journey, and he chose to be public in his journey, by talking about it in his comedy routines, by videotaping everything, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and if what didn't they come it becomes an inspiring story of resilience and humor, as he said, how he chose to really see humor as how comedy can heal.

And so this is a connection, I believe, between the body and the soul, between the body and the soul and the emotion, the relationships. And we can choose to be optimistic. We can choose to see life what it is. Well, what do we say here? We'd like to turn the grim of cancer and into the grin of a fulfilled life. And I believe, absolutely, I don't think there's too many Deb of people who don't want to have a fulfillment in their life. They don't want their life to feel useless or empty or without meaning.

And too many people have experienced meaninglessness in their life, even when their things are going relatively well and but here we have people how he chose, and I've a lot of people we talked to, and I think you and I have chosen to, you know, really take this unhappy, bad circumstance and transform it into something that is good, even if it's painful, that that it's good and. I like it. I like it. I liked what he had to share. And look forward to hearing more from him. And who knows, maybe we’ll have Eyal as a guest on our podcast sometime.

Oh, that'd be wonderful. That would be so much fun.

Yeah, good. Well, what a great talk. And we'll and from time to time, I think it's gonna be good for us to kind of review the stories of comedians, actual comedians, either in person or through things like TED Talks and things like that, and for us to try to understand their stories a little bit better.

Right, right. So much fun, and more than anything, so inspirational, right? I think that was the important thing so well, as we've said, you know, we are about humor, we are about comedy. We are about laughing. So that means it's time for another one of Dr Brad's bad dad jokes of the day.