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Amazing Mom: Saranne Rothberg
Filed under: Activities: Babies, Medical Conditions, Resources, Single Parenting, Amazing Parents, Funny Stuff
Lauriel and her mother Saranne Rothberg want to make sick people laugh. Credit: Courtesy of The ComedyCures Foundation.
Amazing Mom: Saranne Rothberg, founder of the The ComedyCures Foundation, which uses therapeutic comedy programs to help the sickSaranne's Family: Kid: Lauriel, 17
Saranne Lives In: New York and New Jersey
Why Saranne Is Amazing: Saranne Rothberg doesn't just drive across the George Washington Bridge, she flies.
Regardless of the weather, she rolls down the window, sticks her arm out and pretends to soar across the Hudson River. She started the ritual in 1999 after she was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer and given five years to live. Her treatment required her to drive over the bridge every day for 44 days, sometimes with her then 6-year-old daughter, Lauriel.
At the start of her treatment, Saranne wanted to refocus it from something scary and awful to something fun and adventuresome.
"I wanted to make it joyful," she says. "If we flew across the bridge, it was exciting, thrilling. It was the exact opposite of a death sentence."
The treatments needed to be fun because within hours of her diagnosis, the single mother decided to fight cancer with humor. She stopped at a video store on the way home from the doctor's office and checked out every stand-up comedy tape on the shelves. She put her daughter to bed, had a good, long cry and cued up a video.
The idea to battle sickness with humor stemmed from the writings of Norman Cousins, whom she had discovered in college. Cousins, who suffered from arthritis, found that laughter eased his pain. That first night of comedy set the tone for her cancer battle.
"When I was laughing I was not thinking of my mortality," she says. "All of that part of my body that shut down in fear when they said, 'you have cancer,' started to relax. If I could laugh and bring joy into our home I could survive this."
While undergoing chemotherapy, Saranne decided to spread her joy with her fellow patients, doctors and other hospital staff. She even threw a Chemo Comedy Party to celebrate life and laughter during one of her treatments. At the party, she had another idea: To start a charity, called The ComedyCures Foundation, which would bring humor to sick people.
She decided to take her approach into the "trenches of treatment," she says, and allowed her daughter Lauriel to be a partner in the effort. Together they auditioned comedians to perform at hospitals, stuffed goody bags and choose a logo for the organization.
"Through joy and laughter and comedy, we would nurture people like they were in their mothers' arms," she remembers thinking.
Today, Saranne is cancer-free and ComedyCures is a successful charity that uses therapeutic comedy programs to entertain and educate patients, families and caregivers about the healing power of a comic perspective and the positive benefits of laughter.
"I'm grateful for my cancer," Saranne says. "Without it, I would never have found my life's mission -- figured out my purpose."
Saranne's Daughter Lauriel Says: "She has more courage and conviction than anyone I've ever met and genuinely gets up every day to do good. I feel that I am lucky to have such a strong woman as a role model, because I think her independence and positive attitude have truly guided my development as a young woman."
Recognition: Saranne has received the 2007 Yoplait Breast Cancer Champion Award; The Hope for The Future Award; The Making a Difference Award; The Rotarian Humanitarian Award; and The Cancer Superhero of the Year Award.
Saranne's Guilty Pleasures: Dark chocolate, comedy, USC Football, the Sabbath, spa treatments, meditation, house parties
Saranne's Best Advice: "Start each day with laughter, gratitude and a guilty pleasure!"
Related: Amazing Mom: Yolande Dumont
Want to see who else made the list? Click here for the rest of AOL's 2010 Amazing Moms!
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
5-09-2010 @ 12:13PM
Kathleen said...Your encouragement was great.. I liked your story because my mom had breast cancer and it is the hardest thing to go through with someone as close to you.. I am a nurse and it you always think it will never happen to your family your wrong it does.. I just wanted to say waking up everyday and laughing and go through life like that it is great. Because that's what I do..
Reply
5-09-2010 @ 12:21PM
CHARLES REED said...YOU ARE A FIGHTER. I WAS CLOSE TO THE SAME WHEN I WAS 14 YEARS OLD. ONLY I LOST ME LEG. I HAVE DONE EVERYTHING THAT PEOPLE SAID I COULD NOT DO TO PROVE TO MYSELF THAT I COULD. I FLY WITH A LICENSE AND NO RESTRECTIONS, I SKY DIVE, SNOW SKI, WATER SKI AND I SPENT 5 YEARS IN VIET NAM AS A ADVISOR GS 14. YOU ARE A WONDERFUL LADY AND I AM A REAL GOOD GUY MYSELF.
TELL THE SPELL CHECKERS TO SHOVE IT.
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5-09-2010 @ 9:48PM
girl_xuna said...Today is the Mother's Day, wish all mothers health forever.
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6-26-2010 @ 10:27AM
Laielen said...I am so glad that Saranne is cancer free and is continuing with Norman Cousin's work with ComedyCures. The article, however, is incorrect regarding Norman Cousins. He didn't use laughter to ease the pain of arthritis, he was diagnosed with a frightening, INCURABLE disease. He used laugher and intravenous vitamin C to heal himself when conventional medical doctors said he couldn't. He wrote a book about it.
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5-09-2010 @ 2:50PM
BeingCancerFree said...Wow! Amazing Story. I am so inspired by you Saranne! You deserve this beautiful recognition. Thank you for all the work you have done to help so many and the inspiration that you are. While in our 30's my husband and I were diagnosed with stage 3B and stage 4 cancer. We made it our mission to study why cancer happens and how to heal from it. We have been cancer free 9 years. Our mission became sharing this information. We have a free report at http://tinyurl.com/qp4c49 with information that we discovered. One in two people will be diagnosed with cancer. We want to share what we discovered so that we can all start paying attention to what our bodies are telling us so we can start reducing that number. Congratulations on a beautiful journey and thank you for giving so generously!
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5-09-2010 @ 8:40PM
hizz42 said...You are a leader and a fighter. This is a heart touching story! YOU ROCK SARANNE!
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5-09-2010 @ 3:23PM
GEORGE said...WOW, ONE OF THOSE LADIES IS A MOTHER, THEY LOOK LIKE SISTER'S. GOOD GENES IN THAT FAMILY. GLAD YOU ARE BOTH O.K., YOU LOOK GREAT.
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5-09-2010 @ 9:24PM
dEBBIE said...It's even in the BIble - A cheerful doeth good like medicine! So keep on laughing! It is medicinal
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5-09-2010 @ 3:27PM
Deborah said...I am just finishing fighting breast cancer and my husband had a joke for me every morning and when I was down at night he would pull out more and this really help me get through all the treatment. I know that Saranne is right it is the laughter that gets you through. What a great Mom!
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5-09-2010 @ 4:24PM
cherylnorman said...I stumbled upon this story after I had just told my husband (in discussing my upcoming chemo and radiation) I want to laugh through this breast cancer treatment. We both agree laughter is the best medicine, and attitude is everything. Now I have a new heroine and role model! Saranne, you so rock!
Reply
5-10-2010 @ 8:48PM
concernedcitizen said...She helps strangers, but what about her blind handicap brother? A truly generous and selfless person would also care for their immediate family. "Mothering" can and should extend to your whole family, and if you have the means to do it, then is it not the right and moral thing to do?
Cancer is a horrible disease but so is living in the dark. Maybe helping your own family laugh through their pain would also bring joy.
Reply
6-01-2010 @ 9:46AM
Tami Boehmer said...Wow, I just came across this story and am so inspired. I am a stage IV breast cancer survivor with a daughter who's 11. She certainly brings laughter to my life and I always look for more opportunities to do so. I read Norman Cousins' book, as well.
I just wrote a book called From Incurable to Incredible: Cancer Survivors Who Beat the Odds, which is an anthology of stories of cancer survivors who have overcome/outlived terminal prognoses. I know several of them talk about humor as a great tool. I continue to look for great stories like this on my blog. Is there a way I could reach Saranne?
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