Leaning on Humor Through Cancer
- David Bowie was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2014 and fought the disease for 18 months before passing away in January 2016 at age 69.
- Bowie leaned on humor through cancer; his estate recently released a remastered Bowie album, The Width of a Circle, and its accompanying booklet for fans.
- This year, approximately 42,000 Americans will be diagnosed with liver cancer.
“David faced his illness with enormous courage, dignity, grace, and customary humor.” – Gary Oldman
Oldman goes on to say, “The world lost a man, an artist, a transcendent talent…He was the living embodiment of that singular word: ‘Icon.'” Oldman recounts his friend’s humor and positive outlook, saying, “'David was funny. And the laughs were many and massive and I should miss them. His outlook was positive and I never once heard him complain. David faced his illness with enormous courage, dignity, grace, and customary humor.”
Bowie’s Liver Cancer Journey
David Bowie was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2014 and fought the disease for 18 months. He passed away in January 2016 at age 69. Bowie kept his cancer battle private, and so his death came as a shock to many of his fans.
Liver cancer affects approximately 42,000 Americans per year, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). Causes of this disease may include excessive alcohol consumption or a family history of liver cancer.
Several different types of liver cancer exist, and the most common is hepatocellular carcinoma. Symptoms of this disease may include abdominal pain, unexplained weight loss, decrease or loss of appetite, fatigue, nausea and jaundice.
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Using Humor to Cope with Cancer
Like Bowie, many lean on humor to cope with their cancer diagnosis. That’s exactly what comedian Jenny Saldana did when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the young age of 34. Saldana, a comedian by trade, leaned on her professional skills to get her through that difficult time, which included surgery for cancer treatment.
In an earlier interview, Saldana describes how she used humor to help her heal and cope. “They reconstructed my right breast, so I was on bed rest for about six weeks. I couldn’t move. And I’m not a good journal-er. And I started writing what I was going through in play form. I’m no longer that strong, powerful person. I’m this soft, weak, full of cancer girl, and I struggled with that,” she says.
Saldana channeled her lived experiences into her work. “The play is actually a dramedy,” she explains. “There are a lot of funny moments in it. But it’s about the struggle of finding your new normal, when you go through something like this. I’ve toured this play all over colleges, all over the United States. And I used to get questions from the students who would see the play, and they’d come up to me like, oh I’m going through this, it’s not as bad as cancer, but I’m going through this.”
Jenny Saldana Found Humor in Her Cancer Journey, And Turned it into a "Dramedy"
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