Tenafly–Saranne Rothberg laughed her way into remission. Refusing to give up, she confronted a stage-four breast cancer diagnosis head on. “Two surgeries, 44 radiation treatments and three years of chemotherapy and nothing worked,” said Rothberg who began her non-profit, The ComedyCures Foundation, 15 years ago while undergoing up to three times daily chemotherapy. She turned down Oprah when they called and who does that?
“I just couldn’t do it; we already had a waiting list of 18 months. WB11 had just done a story and the phone literally rang every minute for 36 hours and days after the New York story aired. We couldn’t even lift the phone to call out because it was someone calling in,” said Rothberg. “I was still fighting for my life and bringing comedy shows to my fellow patients; it would have been irresponsible to attract more attention to the charity, I could barely handle the staggering number of requests. I had to turn Oprah down then, but they called again several years later and at that time I was able to do the interview and Oprah’s first book.”
In the process of a divorce in 1999, Rothberg was a newly single mother with a young daughter. She left the doctor’s office after the devastating news and went to a video store, rented every standup comedy tape they had, went home, sat on the floor, and cried for hours. Then she started to watch and laugh, and she’s never stopped.
“Stress and anger depress the immune system,” said Rothberg. And so, from the treatment chair, she played comedy videos, told jokes, and then started bringing in performers for more than just her own benefit. She brought laughter to fellow patients, the nurses. and doctors. Her popularity and reputation grew rapidly; they started asking “When are you coming back?” But in spite of the shared laughs, none of her treatment worked and it seemed like she might be losing the battle. “Then I saw a study about a woman who had multiple personalities and it was documented that as one personality she had one blood type and eye color and as another it was her eye color and blood type totally changed. What that said to me was if she could spontaneously change her body chemistry with just her personality, why couldn’t I spontaneously heal myself by changing my body chemistry? That was the moment that changed everything for me.”
“I never asked myself, ‘Why me?’ Instead, I asked myself, ‘What am I supposed to see or know?’ And this was my answer, my revelation. It turns out that there are about 20 common factors that occur when healing happens spontaneously–among them comedy, laughter, and joy. I began practicing and sharing these powerful strategies and that helped heal me and give me my life back.”
Rothberg quickly became top-of-mind and a go-to resource for many oncology professionals. As a central subject of Radical Remission, the NYT’s best-seller and the #1 Cancer, #1 Healing, and #1 Motivation book upon its Amazon launch, this book reveals a stunning account of spontaneous healing both with and without treatment and in part based on Rothberg’s miraculous recovery. The book is a simple healing philosophy targeting nine keys components that can unlock the pathway to dramatic healing.
She describes Radical Remission, authored by Dr. Kelly Turner as follows: “Dr. Turner is the theoretic science and I am living the applied science.”
Like a sponge, Rothberg has soaked up and refined various alternative healing concepts that facilitate natural healing and has worked them into the programs The ComedyCures Foundation provides for acute and chronically ill patients and their caregivers all over the world. As a successful 501(c)3, her organization has perfected the presentations from its nascent beginnings of simple “stand-up,” or in her case “sit-down chemo room” comedy to a more comprehensive complete healing program.
“We bring more than joy, we bring hope, clean comedy, and coping strategies. People see in my story an underdog who won,” said Rothberg, “thereby empowering them to laugh more and fight harder.”
Her early self-help research and education started with the ideas she recalled from the famous best-selling book, Anatomy of Illness, by Norman Cousins, which sparked her interest in psychoneuroimmunology. “Year after year more and more things are being clinically proven. I sit with doctors and researchers and present to them our applied program, anecdotes, and videos and together we are getting a fuller picture of why this works,” said Rothberg.
The charity is fiscally responsible with 91-94% of every dollar raised going directly to programs. Wildly popular, making a huge impact with minimal operating costs, ComedyCures’ founder Rothberg was honored by SmartCEO New York, on September 23 as a CEO of the Year, Non-Profit Winner. Award criteria? Giving back. Recognized as one of those CEO’s making a living and making a difference in the lives of those around them, ComedyCures teaches people how to heal by teaching them how to live. “It’s about letting go of stuff and laughing. We teach people how to live, love, and laugh,” says Rothberg.
Humbled by the media attention, she admits the accolades and publicity are simply drivers to stimulate others’ contributions of time, talent, and funding. She’s all about helping the sick and disadvantaged and draws no salary for herself. With a waiting list of five years for programs, there is a clear demand for what she is giving back.
Raising money is key for any charity, and with the economy as in flux as it has been and job security questionable for many, people aren’t exactly tripping over themselves to donate to charities. But though in constant need of funding, the group has been blessed by serendipity.
“I was bending over to pick something up in a public place and literally Michael tripped over my bent body!” explains Rothberg of her latest fundraising partner, Michael DeStefano. On September 22, the day before the SmartCEO Award was given to Rothberg, she staged The CuresComedy Bash. “After he tripped over me, Michael asked me what I did, because he had an overwhelming feeling that tripping over me was not random, that somehow he was supposed to meet me. Turns out his brother had just passed away from cancer and he said, ‘That’s it.’ I want to help you bring to others what I know would have helped my brother. So, along with a few of my friends, he brought many of his friends–Buddy Valastro, a.k.a. ‘The Cake Boss,’ NY Yankees’ folks, and lots of colleagues from Ernst & Young and Goldman Sachs. It was an incredible night.”
Indeed it was with a stellar lineup of ComedyCures’ comediennes who brought good tears and uncontrollable laughter to a packed Gotham Comedy Club in New York City. “We had great corporate sponsors they helped make it a hilarious night and we topped six figures. Produced by a ComedyCures team of two, Rothberg and Patricia Riuz–with a host of behind-the-scenes sponsors and volunteers that Rothberg calls “angels”–this comedy bash was sold out in less than two weeks. On stage Rothberg tells the audience, ‘tonight is a small example of what we bring to the acute and chronically ill women, men, and children and their caregivers.”
Based on mounds of research and clinical results, all portions of ComedyCures presentations have been vetted, as Rothberg has strict conditions for all comedians–23 to be exact–and she meets regularly with medical professionals to brainstorm.
“Thank God we have the formula, the secret sauce, and we are blessed to bring it to so many. But there are so many more that we can’t reach with live events. Paul Newman’s Camps called and we told them 18 months. They begged us, but we couldn’t accommodate them. Then we had a cancellation and we called them; they moved their schedule totally around to fit the last-minute date. We went, and while our performers were still onstage the camp’s board of directors was trying to book us for every camp site they have worldwide. They have a real need, and we can help these very sick kids. Unfortunately we can’t accommodate them without additional funding. I would need to put regional summer teams together to go to camps exclusively. I have the award-winning programs and an amazing, incredible pool of talent ready to go, we just need an angel to fund it,” said Rothberg.
Beyond launching regional performing teams, the charity seeks to improve digital platforms. “We can scale growth to demand if we had more money to build online assets. Offering free online programming will increase our reach exponentially. We have room for corporate and individual sponsorships small and large and we even have naming opportunities. We also raise funds by consulting on Wellness Programs for corporations, communities, schools, health fairs, conventions, and hospitals or when corporations request our specially-trained comedians for their functions.”
After over 1,000 live events reaching nearly one million people, and having performed in many countries and countless international print and TV programs such as Good Morning America, Oprah, and Dr. Oz, Rothberg is a cancer-free powerhouse that one might say is obsessed with helping people. She sleeps less than three hours a night as she tries to reach millions on a regular basis. The next upcoming NYC event is “LaughingLunch” (meals are always Glatt Kosher) scheduled on October 28 for patients, family, and/or caregivers.
“Something magical happened to my head along the way. I learned, and now ComedyCures teaches, how to recalibrate the mind, body, and spirit for optimal healing,” said Rothberg. Healing concepts are integrated into “safe, family-friendly comedy” and some of the coping methods are the bottom-line results of scientific research creatively embedded and shared in programs like “LaughingLunch.” (Among the research data utilized, are findings on muscle memory and H2O. “The human body is composed mostly of water, and documented studies demonstrate incredible information about how positive happy energy and negative angry energy affects the molecular structure of water. We take this scientific information and build upon it, teaching strategies and life skills to hopefully get the cells to work for you and not against you,” said Rothberg.)
“My observance gives me time to recharge, be available with hyper focus. Simcha, joyfulness, is such an important part of healing. If I’m blessed with another day, I am not wasting it burdened by sadness, fears, and hate.”
A Lubavitcher, Rothberg davens daily and says, “Torah teaches us to look at life through rose-colored glasses. Everything is good even if it appears horrific, somehow, someway, there is something good even in the horror. It’s all from Hashem.”
To learn more about “LaughingLunch” or how to become a sponsor, contact the foundation at 201-227-8410 or ComedyCures.org or like them on Facebook, Saranne Rothberg.
Elyse Hansford a freelance writer, mother, and marketing consultant @elysehansford
By Elyse Hansford
