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Clinical psychologist Cathy Fenwick
could not have imagined herself wearing a clown nose. A mother and
career centre manager, she was devastated when she was diagnosed
with breast cancer at age 44. She underwent a mastectomy and chemotherapy,
but during her recovery she plunged into depression. She says, "at
my lowest point I was sitting at the dinner table with my two children
and I had just had three days of non-stop crying."
Cathy was determined to prevent her depression from taking hold
of her life. Instead of reading literature which focused on the
poor survival rate for women of her age, she began to read about
the healing power of humour. She learned about Norman Cousins, a
magazine editor who treated his arthritis with humour. She explains,
"he surrounded himself with loving caring people. Made himself
a laugher first aid kit. He found that lots of laughter helped him
to heal."
Prepared to heal herself, Cathy continued to read about humour therapy,
and consulted with her therapist, Joanne Neddow. Cathy’s turning
point came when she created her laughter first aid kit. She says,
"my nieces and I went to a place where you can get clowning
stuff, came back, painted our faces and put on the wigs, took some
pictures in fact the tests showed over those next weeks that the
white cell counts were coming up." White blood cells, which
are destroyed by chemotherapy treatment, fight off infection. As
this count showed, laughter and play were helping Cathy to heal
herself.
Cathy’s exploration of healing humour not only helped her to
recover, it provided her with a new career path. After she attended
a symposium on the healing power of humour, she decided to share
her experiences with others. She writes articles and holds seminars
about coping with chronic illness, job loss, or day-to-day stress.
Cathy explains, "I’ve learned a lot, I’ve done a
lot of things to help myself. Why wouldn’t I share that knowledge
with others?" Best of all, Cathy’s cancer has gone into
remission. She is now embracing life with enthusiasm, commitment,
and plenty of clown noses and funny glasses.
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"At
my lowest point . . . I had just had three days of non-stop crying."
– Cathy Fenwick
Cathy’s
exploration of healing humour not only helped her to recover, it provided
her with a new career path.
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