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Cancer is no laughing matter, but when you're battling the disease to survive, laughing does matter. That's the philosophy of comedian Scott Burton, who will entertain and inspire some 200 Utah cancer survivors tomorrow in Salt Lake City.
People with cancer don't often like putting their disease down in the arena for everybody to see, but for Scott Burton, it's a natural. "Life with cancer is still life. That's why the humor is still there. And I think what that laughter does more than anything is remind us we're alive," he said.
Burton is very much alive, a survivor himself of osteosarcoma. He's been through all the maneuvers -- the diagnosis, the chemotherapy, the surgery to remove cancerous bone from his leg. Now, as a comedian and juggler, he's conveying a message in a unique way.
While there's nothing funny about getting cancer, cancer as a villain can become the brunt of jokes. "The only word in the English language that has a much power as the word cancer, I think, would be the word audit. Exact same response: ah -- oh man!" he says.
Burton said, "The gift of laughter is when you do it for just that moment, however long it is, you love your life. There's no consciousness to it, it's just living, loving, truly loving life."
With chemotherapy patients, Burton jokes about the ultimate chemo you can sniff up your nose. "What they do is get you to drink a glass of milk, and then they make you laugh, and the tumor shoots out your nose. But they're having a hard time deciding whether it works with both 2 percent and whole milk, and they're having a heck of a hard time finding a doctor who can make you laugh."
What's the worst disease out there? Is it cancer, is it AIDS, is it heart disease? Burton said, "From my point of view, the worst disease we've got going for us is forgetting we're alive."
Cancer survivors who flock to his stage agree. Laughing is that wonderful therapeutic reminder.
Scott Burton appears tomorrow at the Cancer Survivor Conference at the Salt Lake Community College on 9750 S. 300 West in Sandy. Other speakers include Sandy City Mayor Tom Dolan, Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon, and physicians, social workers and health experts.
The event runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Admission is free.
E-mail: eyeates@ksl.com
