(upbeat music) - Hi, I am Jacqui Tricarico, Senior Correspondent for "One-on-One," and so pleased to be joined now by Saranne Rothberg, who is the CEO and founder of the Comedy Cures Foundation, as well as the host of the daily podcast "Beating Cancer Daily."

So great to have you with us, Saranne.

- Thank you.

I'm so glad to be here.

It means I'm still alive.

- And you usually get to speak with Steve, but you get to speak with me today.

We've had you on the program in the past, but we initially were introduced to you and your foundation through the Russell Berrie Foundation and the Russ Berrie Making a Difference Awards.

You won that award back in 2003, but I wanna take it back just a little bit further before that, in 1993.

Tell us about that time in your life and when you were first diagnosed with stage four cancer.

- Well, my symptoms really started to appear in 1993, just after I gave birth to my daughter.

And I went to 11 doctors, 11 doctors, and I kept saying, "Do you think that I have breast cancer because this duct is not draining?"

And my grandmother died of complications from breast cancer very young, but technology was very different then.

They also didn't look at young women with breast cancer the way they do now.

And so I probably would've been diagnosed very quickly in this era, but then it was just ignored for six years.

- Wow, six years.

So then finally in 1999, you do get the diagnosis.

Talk about that time in your life and where laughter and humor really played such a key role in your journey through this cancer diagnosis and treatment.

- Well, I threw a chemo comedy party, and most people don't do that when they're going through their first chemo treatment, but comedy was such a part of my family culture.

I was raised by a single dad and he took me to see comedians very young.

He didn't have to get a babysitter, and we just loved to laugh.

So I couldn't think of a better way to go through something so stressful.

And it was when all this research was coming out on psycho-neuro-immunology, the mind-body connection.

And so I thought, you know, if I can't laugh myself, well, my daughter will have a great time and great memories of her mom if I were to pass, and you know what?

I could bring a lot of joy along the way.

And I used to scout the comedians for Dick Clark Productions.

And so I just had an entire Rolodex at the time, now database, but of comedians.

And so I thought, what a fun way to go through cancer treatment.

Have my friends who were comedians follow me through.

But it was the reaction not only of the patients and the caregivers, but of the staff who's under so much stress and so much pressure, treating very ill cancer patients, that that day I said, "That's it."

I went home and I started ComedyCures.org, the Comedy Cures Foundation.

And they did not think that I was gonna survive three surgeries, 44 radiation treatments, two and a half years of chemotherapy.

- Chemo every day.

- I had chemo three times a day at one point, and yet I just had this incredibly strong mindset.

And even though I kept getting bad news, it was all that reinforcement of the laughter and the positive thinking and the optimism that got me through the toughest days.

And my daughter had a blast because our house was so full of joy and laughter.

- And the evolution of the foundation.

It really has taken off in so many different ways.

What are some of the programs and initiatives that you're most proud of, especially for, of course, cancer patients, but caregivers too?

- Yeah, and hospital staff.

And that was something that was really rewarding.

So during COVID, I started to get calls to do programs for medical personnel because they were under so much pressure and working such long hours.

And then the minute COVID was over, I started to do programs for nurses and hospitals just to kind of reinforce the mental health of the staff.

But my favorite programs are when we integrate the patient, the caregiver, and the medical caregiver, because they go through this together.

Whatever your health challenges or your trauma, it's a team sport really.

And so if I can help everyone start laughing together, they get in sync, right?

Because laughter's breath.

So if everybody starts laughing together, things align and relationships build, and healthcare becomes much more than transactional.

And it's where we are right now.

You only get to see your doctor for a few minutes.

And back in the old days, you used to sit with that local doctor and laugh and they would know about your kids.

And we don't have time now, so that I can help people find the funny in healthcare, and heal, and have humor, and improve health.

It's just the best job ever.

- Well, how are you doing just that?

Give us an example of how you're integrating everyone and creating that environment for people to laugh.

Give us an example of that.

- So one of our signature programs that has gotten the most attention, I think, is Laughing Lunch.

And Laughing Lunch is where a patient can invite three other people or a caregiver, a medical person can invite... So a medical person can invite up to 10, like an entire support group or a bunch of patients and caregivers.

And they come in, we spoil you, feed you, and the program is free.

And then as the people start chatting and talking, they forget that they're really in a medical setting because it's like going out to a comedy club that caters.

And then the show starts, and people think they're coming there just to laugh.

But it's actually a community-building opportunity where we teach about psycho-neuro-immunology, the mind-body connection, and the science behind why laughter and a comic perspective is so good for you, and creating resiliency, positivity, and wellness.

And we know looking at chemo studies that if someone is positive and happier and more emotionally uplifted, the chemo is actually responded to better.

So it's not just to feel good; it's to have strategies for coping.

One of the programs I love is that I got to produce the first program of this kind at the United Nations, at the World Health Organization in Geneva, and for the families reuniting after September 11th.

So that program on Broadway with Rotary International, the 9/11 Fund, was just a historic moment for me because my dad was a trader downtown.

And so the fact that I got to live with my dad after that, because he didn't go to work that morning, I really felt connected to those kids and those families.

He was in the '93 bombing.

So this has taken me way beyond the chemo room, and now that I get to do research studies, it's incredible.

- Talk about how you're taking all of that and what you've learned, and you're bringing it into this daily podcast, the "Beating Cancer Daily" podcast.

What does it mean to you to share so much information and stories on that podcast for your listeners every day?

- Well, I found out today that we are now in 142 countries.

We are on all seven continents.

And this podcast wasn't originally designed for the public.

It was like a love letter back to the participants in my two research studies, which involve stage three and stage four cancer patients.

And the first study is actually published now because it was so groundbreaking.

And I wrote the first AI study in cancer survivorship.

And the second study, they called a new protocol in cancer care.

So when that was over, the patients were like, "You cannot stop teaching us."

Not one patient was re-hospitalized with stage four cancer in my second study.

And that's groundbreaking for families, for the patient, and also for the burden on our healthcare system.

So the patients just said, "You have to keep teaching us."

They came up with the idea of a podcast, but they said they wanted it daily.

How do you even do that, right?

But you want it done, you give it to a stage four cancer survivor.

So a cancer survivor paid for this microphone and paid for an editor, and I got going, and I am over 400 daily episodes later.

- Incredible.

- And I thought I was done at 365 because that was the commitment to the patients, but now they don't want it to stop, and now they want it to go to video.

So we have to raise more money because I can do podcasting in my pajamas at two o'clock in the morning, but I kinda have to look like this to do videos.

- The video aspect, yeah.

- So I hope people wanna support it and I can support their loved ones.

You know, Jacqui, the thing that I find so incredible is that it just went word of mouth.

Patients shared it, nurses shared it, caregivers shared it, and somehow we got even to Antarctica.

Doctors signed a flag telling me they were the first listeners in Antarctica.

So it's really beyond my wildest dreams.

- Well, congratulations on the podcast, and I know our viewers can take a listen with the website that's been up for Comedy Cures Foundation as well.

And it links out to the podcast, such great, useful information on there.

And we can't wait to see what else happens with you and the foundation and the podcast.

Congratulations, and thank you so much for joining us, Saranne.

- Thank you.

Tell everybody, pray that we win the best health series of the year; we're nominated.

- That's wonderful.

Congratulations.

We will, we will.

Thank you so much.

We really appreciate your time.

For Steve Adubato and myself, thanks for watching.

We'll see you next time.

- [Narrator] One-On-One with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by The Russell Berrie Foundation.

Hackensack Meridian Health.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The Adubado Center for Media Leadership.

The New Jersey Education Association.

New Jersey Institute of Technology.

PSEG Foundation.

The North Ward Center.

And by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

Promotional support provided by NJ.Com.

And by Meadowlands Media.

- (Narrator) Public service.

It's what we do, at the PSEG Foundation Through volunteer hours, partnerships and our other contributions.

We're committed to empowering communities.

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