Laughter as Medicine

Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on.

-Bob Newhart

It seems that people have always intuitively understood the therapeutic effects of laughter, and more recently science has been able to explain some of these benefits. The act of laughing increases oxygen flow and circulation while lowering blood pressure. Laughter also balances our emotions. The Mayo Clinic suggests that daily laughter can go a long way in helping cancer patients cope with their illness. Here are a few tips they recommend:

• Watch a funny movie and laugh out loud.
• Laugh with friends — go for coffee together, talk a walk, go window shopping.
• Take time to read the comic section of the paper every day.
• Play games such as Pictionary, Bingo, Charades, Bowling ... anything that puts you in a situation of humor and fun.

While helping my sister battle non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, I've found that laughter also provides a diversion. It serves as a temporary escape from the rather frightening reality of cancer. I had never really thought of laughter as medicine, but it makes perfect sense. I think I sense a Marx Brothers marathon in our near future...

Haunted Party Raises Money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Carol Woods is no stranger to the horrors of cancer. She lost her uncle and brother to the disease. Her 53-year-old brother-in-law is currently battling non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Frustrated by the devastation brought on by cancer, Carol decided to begin a fund-raising operation for the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Instead of organizing a marathon or a bake sale, Carol decided to go for something a little bit spookier: a haunted costume party. On October 23, she held the 5th annual haunted costume ball for cancer research, complete with a costume contest, raffles and live music. Now that's celebrating the Halloween season with a healthy dose of activism! To view photos of this event, click here.

Intoducing Chemo Babe, the Larger Than Life Super Heroine Combating Villainous Cancer

Chemo Babe is not your ordinary cancer patient. She's bold. She's bald. She'll don a corset and whip to fulfull her identity as a malignancy-fighting super heroine! This larger than life persona belongs to a breast cancer patient who considers herself a social scientist, intrigued by the complex relationships cancer victims develop with their environments as they battle their disease. According to Chemo Babe's website,

I needed a symbol for my fight, and pink ribbons evoke images of playing dress up or wrapping gifts to me. They do not rev me up for another round of mortal combat.

So I created ChemoBabe, a persona who keeps me fighting. She has enough spunk and edge to get smacked down by surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and stand back up ready to fight some more. A persona who the cancer could not touch. Somebody who could say that cancer is horrible and talk back bluntly to the euphemistic ways people skirt that horror in everyday conversations.

Chemo Babe is a regular blogger, sharing her fiery insights as she progresses on her journey. To learn more about her, click here.

You can't leave the table till you finish those veggies!

I can remember these words coming from my Mother's mouth as if it were yesterday. At the time, I found her insistence on eating my greens infuriating. Today, I'm more thankful than ever.

Research from the University of Illinois shows that broccoli contains "sulforaphane, the powerful cancer-fighting agent" (EurekAlert). This compound is released by beneficial bacteria in the digestive track, and our bodies then absorb it, helping us to stay cancer-free. Other veggies high in sulforaphane include carrots, collard greens and cabbage.

It isn't just a form of cruel and unusual torture; insisting on veggies is an important thing for every parent to do!

School kids are playing in toxic waste!

In Alaska, old government programs left toxic waste on site 50 years ago. Now, these areas are saturated with polychloriated biphenyls (PCBs), and some of them are being used as school buildings! Kids are literally playing with abandoned drums of hazardous materials. Check out this video to hear more of this outrageous story:

Cancer and PCBs are in love

Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, have been linked to cancer, specifically non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Check out this video where The Non-Hodgkin's Project explains this magical relationship between this poisonous group of chemicals and NHL:



The Non-Hodgkin's Project is all about exposing this link, as well as forcing Monsanto to acknowledge responsibility for this issue. According to The Non-Hodgkin's site, Monsanto "the controversial biotechnology company, manufactured 99 percent of all the PCBs produced in the United States." If you would like to sign a petition telling Monsanto just this, click here.

Mortality Maps Reveal Rise in Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Today, I would like to discuss two maps of the United States. These are not your typical maps with street names and parks. Instead, these maps show the mortality rate for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and they were published by the National Cancer Institute. Mortality rate refers to the "death rate," or the percentage of people who die from a given cause. Morbid, yes, but bear with me because these maps reveal some interesting stuff.

The first map displays data from 1950-1969:

The second shows data from 1970-1994:

The first thing you probably notice is that there's a whole lot more red on the second map. This means that more people are suffering from NHL. Several sources have noted a dramatic increase in NHL over the past few decades:

• "Research has documented a steady increase in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma over the past several decades." (ScienceDaily)
• "Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) is one of the fastest rising cancers in the developing countries. In many countries, including the US and Canada, the number of new cases diagnosed each year have almost doubled in the past 30 years." (lymphoma.about.com)
  
• "Between 1973 and 1991, the 73 percent increase in the incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was one of the largest among the major cancer sites in the United States." (rex.nci.hih.gov)

What's to blame for this substantial rise in NHL? Some say the rise in HIV is responsible, as immune deficiency is a risk factor. Others say we simply have better detection methods. Your guess is as good as mine, but one thing's for sure: NHL is becoming a more prevalent problem and deserves greater attention, funding and research.


*Note that these two maps compare NHL mortality rates for white women. To see the maps for other demographics, click here.