A 2nd Act

Ten of us performed on stage and told our stories of cancer survivorship -- our 2nd Act.

Here is the YouTube link: (10 minutes)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HtorQASOZE&index=4&list=PLpLFxEhyh8789KW6IFp4T5kRjcAFFq8qN

Life According to MaMa La Verne (a.k.a Cancer and Comedy)

I was once called the EverReady Bunny.  
That was B.C. (before cancer).

I am now the Velveteen Rabbit.

My life is now filled with things that bring me joy: painting, writing, tai chi, my husband Carl, my children, my friends, my grandbabies, being a patient advocate, a political activist, and dabbling in comedy.

Why comedy?

comedy (def.) = a performance, play, movie, novel, etc., in which the central motif is the triumph over adverse circumstances that is meant to make people laugh

So how did I go from being a serious university professor and researcher to dabbling in stand-up comedy as MaMa La Verne? Well the answer is simple. You either laugh at your horrific situation and find humor in it … or you spend your time crying your eyes out. – not to say I haven’t done both. The truth is that cancer patients need the laughter because humor is therapeutic. It replenishes our souls and helps keep the love and gratitude in our lives.

Trying stand-up comedy was on my bucket list as soon as I reached remission. I needed to laugh, so I decided I would take a joke writing class at our local Tempe Center for the Arts with comedian Tony Vicich. Then I took a stand-up comedy delivery class from Tony. I performed three times as MaMa La Verne. I truly do not deserve to be called a stand-up comic. I am a stand-up dabbler. My goal is to use humor as a therapy for cancer patients. My greatest joy with comedy has been to see others learn to laugh at life.

Then one day one of my aspiring comedian friends Diane confided in me that she had been diagnosed with a blood cancer and was going through the medical tests. I guess it is no longer a secret. LOL. I looked at her and said, “We are going to put together a comedy duet and perform for cancer patients. We can say things to them that only cancer patients can say to each other, because we have a demented sense of humor. She chuckled. My brain started clicking away …

Hmmm. So I thought I would lose my hair during treatment, but my hair turned from straight to wavy for two years. It was my husband who lost his hair. (LOL)

So Monday Diane and I are meeting at the local U.S. Egg for a think tank session. It will be therapeutic.

LIFE ACCORDING TO MAMA La VERNE:

I have 10 life lessons to share. 

1. Attitude counts

It is the only thing you can control in your life.

I often get asked if a positive attitude helps in the length of time one survives when battling cancer. A scientific study found that positive patients do not necessarily live longer than grouchy ones, but the people they live with have a better quality of life. (LOL)

2. Live well and choose to be happy.

Don’t just survive. We are more than cancer survivors.

Surviving has nothing to do with being happy.

Survival is on the lowest level of Maslow’s Pyramid.

Choose to be happy.

Do not be a victim. Do not let cancer define you.

I am not the Cancer Lady. I am La Verne, who happens to be battling a thing called cancer. And for Halloween I am going to dress up as a lab rat.

3. Show gratitude and love.

“Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.” – Aesop

Practice gratitude and love every day because it is an antidote for taking people for granted.

4. Laugh or smile every day

If gratitude is the antidote for taking people for granted, then laughter is the antidote for turning a diagnosis of cancer into a triumphant life.

Laughter has many benefits – physically, mentally, and gives people an overall sense of well-being.

One scientific study found the use of humor leads to an increase in pain tolerance, because it releases endorphins that help control pain and decreases stress hormones.

Now my brain is clicking away again …. So I try to laugh or smile every day because I know that when I die, I am going to heaven. I have thought about going to heaven for the climate and to hell for the company.

                                                                                                                 

6. Live today

People who live in the future are often anxious because they worry about things that haven’t happened yet. Living in the past becomes a problem because it robs you of the opportunity to enjoy the present. It allows you to avoid dealing with issues in the present.

7. Simplify your life.

There is a silver lining to having cancer. I used to have a difficult time telling people, “No.” Now I just say, “I have cancer,” and they don’t ask me to do anything. I should have used that excuse years ago. LOL

8. Avoid toxic people

Surround yourself with people and things that bring you joy.

During my journey to remission in my clinical trial some insensitive people would ask me, “Are you sure you really have cancer? You don’t look sick.”

I guess that’s why they call blood cancer the invisible disease. If you have it, you want the person who asks you those types of questions to disappear.

9. Form a support system

It’s important not to do this cancer journey by yourself. Friends are important. They are like bras. Keep them close to your heart and here for support. (LOL)

10. Let go, but do not give your power away to cancer.

Living with cancer is a constant dance between holding on and letting go. Meditate. Do Tai Chi or yoga. Listen to music, Paint. Write poetry. Run. Dance. Whatever helps you to center yourself.

In the end what matters most is how well you lived, how well you loved, how well you learned to let go, and how much you laughed.

My 2nd Act

2nd Act

May 22, 2016 at 2pm

Mesa Arts Center

Mesa, Arizona

Performances by 10 women who have survived cancer.

• Always inspirational 

• Sometimes humorous 

• Sometimes irreverent

Ticket proceeds will fund grants for cancer survivors who are working on their second act.

Here is my intro:

La Verne Abe Harris, is a university professor and artist, who uses her voice, her writing, and her art to inspire, bring joy and heal other cancer patients and those who love them. She lives with love and gratitude for her husband Carl, her children, her grandchildren, and her friends.

I feel very honored to be one of the 10 selected to tell my story of my survival. I plan on being inspirational, humorous, and of course ... a little irreverent. I hope that those of you who live in the Phoenix area can join us for the Sunday afternoon.

Living Life

I have not been present lately on my blog and that is because I have been joyfully living my life. The only reminders that I have cancer are those three blue pills I take every morning and a few side effects that have become my new normal; among them is some fatigue and joint issues. This winter I have had sinus issues that come with a bloody nose every day. I am dealing with nail issues on three of my toes (Jublia to the rescue) and one particularly bad bloody infection on one of my fingers. But it sure beats the alternative. LOL.

According to the NIH blood work from January 2016, I am still in complete remission. I will have a physical today with my local GP. My bone marrow biopsy is not scheduled until this summer.

You see I have been busy living my life. I am the grandmother of a precious new granddaughter named Ruby La Verne Harris. I was touched so deeply when I found out my son and daughter-in-law named her after me. It is one of the most thoughtful things anyone has ever done for me. I will be forever grateful.

Every morning when I wake up and sit up in my bed, I count the many blessings in my life. I am painting my blank canvases. I am flying around the country telling my story to cancer patients, caregivers, medical personnel, and cancer drug representatives. My husband and I have gone to see our grandchildren play basketball, gymnastics, swimming, and perform the lead role in a school play. I went to a line dancing class and could actually move. I was having so much fun doing stand-up comedy and now another comedian and I are putting together a Frick and Frack stand-up comedy routine for cancer patients. She has blood cancer too.

I received a text today from one of my favorite university graduate students. I was the chair of her graduate committee. I got her through her Master’s Degree and part of her doctoral degree when I was diagnosed and left the university. She and I connected because she was one of the few female grad students in an engineering and technology environment. Hana is from Dubai. I met her when a dear friend (another professor) brought her to my office to talk to me, because we were both creative souls. She was a senior undergraduate at the time and wanted to apply for graduate school. She was devastated because another professor told her that she was not graduate-school material. I am proud to announce that she was just awarded her PhD. Hana texted me this message:

“Hi Dr. Harris! I just defended my PhD and passed! You are the first one to know I passed -- before parents, before friends! You are the reason I made it here today! I didn't update anyone that I was defending today -- not even parents -- because I was freaking out! I wish you were here today ... Thank you for believing in me.”

Hana just filled my bucket.

On another note, I am getting my kitchen and bathroom cabinets refaced. This may sound like a trivial thing to say on a cancer blog, but think about what this really means. This means that I have things in my life that are giving me joy and I don’t think about cancer all the time. At this moment in my life I feel free and alive. It has taken me a long time to get to this point. Life is beautiful. I am going to enjoy every moment while I can.

CLL/SLL Resources

Here are some resources for patients and caregivers:

http://www.cllsociety.org

CLL Society

Dr. Brian Koffman

Note: Dr. Brian has CLL del 17p and has been on ibrutinib (IMBRUVICA) a few months longer than me. He is a patient of Dr. Byrd at The Ohio State University. Dr. Brian was a family doctor in southern California.

http://www.patientpower.info/

Patient Power

Andrew Schorr

Note: Andrew was one of the first to participate in Dr. Michael Keating’s FCR trial. He has successfully been in remission for a couple decades. His background was in medical writing.

Here is my page: http://www.patientpower.info/video/dr-la-verne-abe-harris-i-live-in-the-here-and-now

My blog:

http://drlaverne.blogspot.com/

La Verne Abe Harris, Ph.D.

Note: My journey with CLL

Fiscal help to access IMBRUVICA:

YOU&i™ Support Program

http://www.imbruvica.com/youandi

To learn more about patient enrollment and eligibility, visit youandisupport.com.

You can also call 1-877-877-3536, Monday through Friday, 8 am - 8 pm ET

Note: It ended up being $10 a month for one of the patients I helped get access. She had commercial insurance as the primary prescription insurance. I called and found out that a patient who is under Medicare may also qualify for the YOU&I Support Program, as long as they have a commercial insurance as the primary prescription insurance. Great news!

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia ACOR ListServe:

http://www.acor.org/listservs/join/39

3 years and 3 months on IMBRUVICA

I am back from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland with continued good news on my use of IMBRUVICA (a.k.a. ibrutinib, PCI-32765). I remain in clinical complete remission since January 2015. My blood work is within the normal range and the medical team is happy with the results. Just to remind you, I have now been a participant in the NIH clinical trial for three years and three months with CLL/SLL with del17p and p53 mutation (the poor prognosis). 

I had lunch with two of the other lab rats (George and Betty), and then had vegetable tempura with my cousin Sam, who works for NASA in DC. I strolled by the admissions aquarium to make sure the clown fish couple were still living in the shell, got big hugs from Drs. Adrian Wiestner and Mohammed Farooqui, and got to giggle over a photo of Dr. Mohammed’s 5-month old baby boy, who apparently does not like to sleep at night. Susan, the research nurse got a great new haircut and was laughing about my stand-up comedy routine video. The nurse from India, who took my vitals, had a discussion with me about the pros and cons of arranged versus American marriages. I had a conversation with the shuttle driver about the outlandish costs of housing in Bethesda and how normal folks have such a different perspective of life and money. I sat outside on the patio and smelled the fresh air, chuckled at the people rushing to who-knows-where, and just smiled.

Four Women: Fernel, Bernice, Erika, and NaNa Anna

One of the things I have taken up since I have been in clinical complete remission is stand-up comedy. What a peculiar thing for a computer graphics technology professor to do! It was on my bucket list and now I am hooked. So far I have done two performances and have enjoyed making people laugh as MaMa La Verne. 

 My very own mother made me laugh a lot. Her sense of humor was contagious and I remember how it made me feel. My mind has been wandering lately (not unusual for me) and I thought back to the time when I was only 37 years old. I lost my beautiful mother then because of cancer. This got me thinking about the mother figures in my life. I can think of four lovely women – Fernel, Bernice, Erika, and NaNa Anna – who have made an impact on my life.  Oddly enough, they are all widows and have lost the loves of their lives, yet they make me smile and make me happy to be a woman.

Fernel is one of the most grateful human beings I know. I painted her wooden cane with colorful graphic patterns after she told me it was such a boring thing to look at. You would have thought I gave her a million dollars. Fernel is so full of sweetness, love, and gratitude. When you meet her, you just want to take her home with you.

Bernice is the rock. She is the voice of reason. She is the sensible foundation. I feel very grounded when I am with her. She makes order out of chaos. She makes you feel safe. Her faith surrounds you.

Erika balances the worlds of the dreamer and the realist. Her favorite word is “imagine.” I hum a little John Lennon when she is around. LOL. Erika dreams, yet also sees reality for what it is. She has persistence and keeps on keeping on. She helps me see balance.

NaNa Anna is brilliant and warm. She makes my heart feel loved with the twinkle of her eyes. With a smile on her face she can debate about any contemporary issue at the age of 90-plus. She makes life fun and engaging.

I miss my mother every day. I realize that these four incredible mother figures have touched my life for a reason. They have given me what I miss from my mom.

Laughter is such a beautiful thing. Taking life too seriously is not good for the body or the soul. Life is too short. Enjoy every minute you have on this earth, because life is good.