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How Comedy Helps Me Live A Better Life!

Hi all, first let me introduce myself. My name is Jasmine Langdon and I’m Laugh-Masters Academy’s current Social Media Coordinator, an improviser, former stand-up comic and a cancer fighter. Yes you read that last part right. I have cancer and not one that’s easy to get rid of. I have multiple myeloma, a rare cancer that resides in my bone marrow and affects my immune system among other things.

I got my official diagnosis in late 2013 although my doctor thinks that I may have been sick longer than I realised. The symptoms can take awhile to show and I was already aware I had benign myeloma for years, but that’s a whole separate story for another time.

Back then I was working full-time in an inbound call centre for a major insurance company in Sydney and also doing a lot of open mic comedy and getting my first little taste of improv via a Theatre Sports introductory course. I knew needed to take a break for my health and I was supported 100% by my employer, friends and family. But the comedy community also really supported me in every sense of the word.

At times I thought I was almost in remission, but alas I wasn’t. At some point I just thought “You know what? I have to live, but not as a chronically ill patient.” Sure I had to modify things more, people I believed people would understand, and they did.

I got back into improv in 2015 with all the Impro Australia classes, plenty of classes with Linda Calgaro and her two-person long form training (both comedic and dramatic) and as many open jams and gigs as I could handle!  Special thanks to Cindy Tonkin for letting me play many times at Likewise despite my lack of long form training. I threw myself into improv and realised I loved it even more than stand up comedy. I also completed LMA’s Level 1 Sketch class here in Sydney in 2016.

All was going well then I broke and dislocated my right shoulder after a show. Not related to myeloma (or the show), but it meant no Improv for a few months. This didn’t help my mental health. I was stuck at home for several weeks during winter and had a few other things going wrong, so I comfort ate and gained weight, but fortunately I had frequent visits from my comedy friends. Improvisers and stand-up comics make wonderful guests when you are down and in pain. Lots of old Whose Line Is It Anyway episodes also helped numb the pain. Handy hint from me: avoid breaking your shoulder. It’s very painful and slow healing!

It didn’t take me long however to join a sketch group and we performed as support for a one of my stand-up comedy mate’s Sydney Fringe Show in September. I still had my sling on but it didn’t bother me!

I’ve given just a short version of the last few years because I don’t want to dwell on the past unless there is something to learn or teach.

So where am I at now with my mental and physical health? Well I’m happy to say the Myeloma is stable for the first time as it has been resistant or partial remission til now. I am on a toxic medication 21 days of the month, however acupuncture and good diet and rest helps balance it out. Oh, and my shoulder is getting more movement. Yep shoulders are notoriously slow to heal, but I’m just getting better at being a patient patient! (That wasn’t a typo just an attempt at a corny joke!)

I’ve recently gone back to my day job after over three years off on a staff insurance claim. I am very happy with my Manager, my back to work rehabilitation rep, and others in the team who understand my situation and are supportive. I still have several medical appointments to navigate every month and get antibody infusions for my white cells to stay stable, but I guess I’m used to it. Plus I always bring a stand-up comic to the longest appointment to help me laugh my way through treatment!

I’m  now I’m studying improv with LMA and am doing social media promotion. I love it, learning a lot, and working with wonderful generous souls and even have a few improv gigs lined up. I hardly have time to worry about cancer getting worse, but I still have to be sensible.

Now I know this may be a heavy blog post to read, but I’m sharing it because many of us have been affected by cancer whether you’ve had it or cared for someone with it, and it does affect the mental health of the sick person – and even sometimes the people caring for that person. Life can be heavy, but it can be wonderful too. Having cancer has shown me the beauty in the world and the generosity of the people I have in my life. Being surrounded by caring funny people is better than a cure.

I found that talking openly about my cancer helped a lot. Everyone wants to help but at the same time you don’t want everyone to help, you don’t want to burden others. That’s where changing my comedy routine helped though I don’t do stand-up so much anymore. My unofficial comedy brand is called ‘’The Hot Comedian Cancer Fighting Comic.’’

Talking about cancer on stage with carefully crafted, and sometimes, dark jokes can be hit and miss. The comedians and some audience members usually enjoy it, but sometimes I’d get anxiety over it and worry that it upset people, so I concentrated more on my blog posts and my comedy podcast instead – and lots of improv!

For anyone battling with chronic illnesses or mental illness it’s OK to talk about it and I believe it’s ok OK have a creative healthy escape from it too – in say the form of improv. I love playing different characters and when I take classes most other improvisers have no idea I have cancer because I look healthier than I feel. Improv comedy training teaches you so many skills including trust, listening to others and the buzz from the laughter and playing like children play is so freeing!

We all need to laugh, especially when we have to face hard challenges. If you don’t laugh you’ll cry! Why not cry from laughing too hard instead? That sounds more therapeutic to me!

In summary, comedy can help heal, it may not cure your physical ailments, but it definitely helps you cope with them and can give you perspective. Laughter is healthy. Check with your specialist and sign up for a class! Feel free to read more on my official blog below!

Note: Jasmine Langdon is a Social Media Coordinator at Laugh-Masters Academy. Connect with her on Facebook and Podomatic.