Healing with laughter
Humor therapist mixes comedy, inspiration at Saint Peter’s University Hospital
By Scott Alessi
Staff Writer
NEW BRUNSWICK — According to humor therapist Joe Cardone, sometimes laughter really is the best medicine.
Cardone, a former stand-up comedian, volunteers once a week at St. Peter’s University Hospital where he provides a dose of humor and inspiration for oncology patients. He also spends one day a week at the Saint Peter’s Family Health Care facility, where he helps children with anger management issues as part of the For KEEPS (Kids Embraced and Empowered through Psychological Services) program.
For Cardone, humor has always been an important part of life. “I grew up in a family that always loved to tell jokes,” said Cardone, a parishioner of St. Frances Cabrini Parish, Piscataway. It was that environment that inspired him to work as a comedian for seven years, during which time he began to understand the effect that laughter can have on the body.
“I remember walking off the nightclub floor feeling great,” he said of his experiences as a comedian. He later began doing research on the physical benefits of laughter, including chemical reactions that occur in the brain that cause a person to feel better when laughing, or in his case, making others laugh.
Power of laughter
Cardone had his first experience with the healing power of laughter years later when a close friend’s father was battling cancer. Cardone was asked by his friend to come to visit his father in the hospital. Cardone went to see the patient and spent several hours sharing humorous stories. Later, he discovered that the doctor had told his friend that his father showed significant signs of improvement after Cardone’s visit.
The experience inspired Cardone to begin volunteering at Saint Peter’s three years ago. “I always felt that humor had this power and this magic to do good things for people,” said Cardone. “If I had this ability to make people laugh, I felt that the one place that it was most important to use it was in the hospital.”
After a year of working in all areas of the hospital, Cardone caught the attention of the oncologists, who asked him to spend time with their patients. “I don’t think we realized at the time just how successful Joe was going to be,” said Dr. Craig Lampert, oncologist. “He’s been a breath of fresh air and it has been an absolute pleasure to have him around.”
Cardone originally focused just on telling jokes to patients to try to make them laugh, but he has since amended his approach. “It’s now about 60 percent inspiration,” he explained. “The inspiration I’m finding is working out very well, especially if I link it with humor.” In some cases, he abandons the comedic elements entirely. “Sometimes I don’t tell a single joke,” he said. “I’m willing to just sit back and listen.”
Doris Carneglia of Kendall Park described Cardone as a “bright spot” in the lives of the patients he visits. Carneglia has benefited from Cardone’s work since she began receiving chemotherapy treatments last summer. “Joe just makes everyone feel better,” she said. “If you’re talking to someone that has a positive approach and gives a little twist of humor, it makes you feel good.”
Thinking positively
Some patients, however, are resistant to Cardone’s approach. Some have accused him of not understanding their situation, while others have simply given up on fighting their illness. In those instances, Cardone focuses on inspiring the patient and reminds them that thinking positively is an important component of recovery.
“When you have adversities in life and you overcome them, you become stronger,” Cardone tells patients. “But you’ve got to have a positive attitude. If you’re getting the medical care but you’re being negative, you’re combating the treatment.”
Cardone admitted that his volunteer work also serves as an important lesson in his own life. “When I see illness and what people are going through, it puts my life in a different perspective,” he said. “Patients teach me that I can handle what they handle.”
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law