Cancer and Comedy

About Cancer and Comedy

The Cancer and Comedy Podcast is for Cancer Impacted People Who are Not Done Living and Are Passionate About Facing the Grim with a Grin. My name is Dr. Brad Miller and The Cancer and Comedy Podcast became my Passion Project At Christmas time 2022 when I was diagnosed with prostate cancer just after retiring from a 43 year career as a pastor. My response was to laugh to keep from crying. I decided after a Christmas visit with my pre-school granddaughters that God wasn't done with me yet and I was going to fully live my life in such a way as to see those granddaughters grow up. I decided to combine my experience as a pastor with my Doctoral Degree in Transformational Leadership with my love of comedy to create the Cancer and Comedy Podcast as place for Cancer Impacted People to Cope with Hope and Humor. I like to say the Cancer and Comedy Podcast is a Place to Turn the Grim into a Grin. Along with my co-host Deb Krier from TryingNotToDie.Live, who is a cancer warrior in her own right, we are dedicated to produce a weekly podcast which brings education, inspiration and entertainment to our audience with practical stories, interviews, funny stories and bad jokes which are designed to help cancer impacted people cope with hope. We will also have faith-based segments in the episodes. Moreover, we love to feature uplifting stories of how people kicked cancer in the butt and won at life. So if you are a cancer impacted person please join me right here on the Cancer and Comedy Podcast where we are all set to lift you up. Dr. Brad Miller, January 2025

Publisher

Dr. Brad Miller

Category

comedy · education · health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

13 Aug 2023

Latest episode

2 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

150 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   2 Oct 2026

   The Healing Power of Laughter: Exploring the Link Between Comedy and Better Health

   Dr. Brad Miller and Deb Creer explore how laughter can help people cope with cancer and other adversity. Drawing on a CNN article by Don Riddell, they discuss how humor may ease stress, lift spirits, and bring people closer—even in the middle of difficult medical experiences. Brad shares a story from his granddaughter Collette’s sixth birthday, where she gave him a makeover complete with hair accessories, makeup, and plenty of sprinkles. The family laughter gave him a joyful distraction before surgery and reminded him how meaningful small, playful moments can be. Deb shares her own stories of joking with surgeons about her incisions, and how humor helped make uncomfortable experiences easier to face. Together, Brad and Deb reflect on laughter as a way to reconnect with others, shift perspective, and make room for joy without denying the seriousness of illness. They also discuss laughter yoga and “laugh baths,” the role of humor in care settings, and Deb’s mother’s decision to limit her exposure to negative news—and how that changed her disposition. Brad and Deb explore: How hope and humor can help people face cancer and other adversity Brad’s “sprinkly grandpa” makeover and finding joy with family before surgery Deb’s humorous moments with surgeons and the realities of living with scars The idea that laughter can reduce stress and support emotional well-being Laughter yoga, “laugh baths,” and making laughter part of everyday life Michael Goldberg’s use of comedy after a brain cancer diagnosis, as described in the article How humor can ease tension and help people connect across differences Deb’s mother’s experience limiting negative news and noticing a change in her mood Why a cheerful disposition can make difficult moments more bearable Balancing humor with serious medical care and conversations with healthcare providers This episode offers: A warm, candid conversation about finding humor during cancer and recovery Personal stories that make difficult or uncomfortable experiences easier to talk about Encouragement to seek out joyful moments and supportive connections A reminder that laughter can be part of coping, alongside medical care Inspiration to approach life with hope, even when circumstances are hard Cancer and adversity can bring fear, stress, and uncertainty, but they don’t have to define every moment. Brad and Deb share how laughter—whether it comes from a family memory, a joke with a care-team member, or simply choosing to notice something funny—can help people feel more connected, uplifted, and present in their lives.

2. 

   25 Sept 2026

   Reconstruction Realities: Body, Mind, and Marriage After Cancer

   Dr. Brad Miller and Deb Krier tackle a deeply personal topic that many cancer survivors and couples experience but rarely discuss openly: rebuilding life after cancer surgery. Brad shares his experience with prostate cancer, the impact of treatment on intimacy and quality of life, and his decision to undergo reconstructive surgery. With honesty, vulnerability, and plenty of humor, he explains the uncomfortable, unexpected, and sometimes downright funny moments that came with the procedure—and why having a clear “big why” matters when making major decisions about your health and future. Brad and Deb also explore Deb’s experience with breast cancer, mastectomy, and the personal decisions surrounding reconstruction. From choosing not to undergo reconstructive surgery to using external prosthetics, Deb shares the realities of adjusting to a changed body and finding ways to reclaim confidence and normalcy. Throughout the conversation, they emphasize that there is no single right way to reconstruct your life after cancer—each person has to make decisions based on their own values, relationships, health, and desired quality of life. Brad and Deb explore: Brad’s prostate cancer diagnosis and the quality-of-life challenges that followed surgery The emotional impact of losing sexual function after prostate cancer treatment Why intimacy and sexuality deserve to be part of conversations about cancer recovery Brad’s decision to undergo penile implant surgery and what the experience was really like The unexpected and humorous moments surrounding surgery, recovery, and medical procedures How humor can help cancer survivors navigate uncomfortable and difficult experiences The importance of having a strong “big why” when facing major life changes Deb’s breast cancer journey, double mastectomy, and decision not to pursue reconstruction External prosthetics, body image, and adapting to life after mastectomy Why cancer patients need more open conversations with doctors and partners about sexuality and quality of life Reconstructing not only the body, but also relationships, identity, confidence, and everyday life This episode offers: An honest conversation about the physical and emotional realities of cancer surgery A reminder that quality of life is an important part of cancer recovery Encouragement to talk openly with healthcare providers and loved ones about intimacy and body changes Real-life perspectives on reconstruction and the different choices cancer survivors may make Humor and perspective for navigating experiences that can otherwise feel uncomfortable or isolating A powerful reminder that rebuilding after cancer can involve much more than physical healing Cancer can change the body, relationships, routines, and expectations for the future. But as Brad and Deb demonstrate, reconstruction can also mean reclaiming the parts of life that matter most—whether that means physical recovery, intimacy, confidence, connection, or simply finding something to laugh about along the way

3. 

   18 Sept 2026

   The Holiness of Humor: Rabbi Bob Alper on Laughter, Loss, and Love

   On this episode of the Cancer and Comedy Podcast, Dr. Brad Miller sits down with Rabbi Bob Alper — quite possibly the only practicing rabbi on the planet doing stand-up comedy on purpose — for a conversation about faith, illness, and the strange holiness of making someone laugh on the worst day of their life. Bob has been on stage for nearly 40 years, from the Comedy Store to Sirius XM, sharing bills with names like Bob Newhart and Jerry Seinfeld, all while serving congregations and conducting High Holiday services for more than three decades. He's also a bladder cancer patient of ten years running — a diagnosis he's turned into one of the few comedy bits in history to feature the words "urethra" and "cystoscopy." With warmth, self-deprecation, and a rabbi's ear for story, Brad and Bob get into: The 2000-year-old Talmudic trick Bob still uses in every sermon and every set: open with a joke, relax the room, then get serious Why 50 years in the pulpit is really "50 years of experience performing in front of a hostile audience" The moment he spotted blood in a urinal in Vancouver, Washington — and what came next How he reframed cancer to strip it of its power: four scrapings, a decade of checkups, and a doctor who says this isn't what's going to get him The true story of the podiatry resident who observed his cystoscopy (and the punchline a fellow comic gave him) Laugh in Peace: Muslim, Jewish, and Christian comics on one stage — and the two student leaders who never spoke until a comedy show made them go to dinner The grim, closed-door humor of a Philadelphia cancer center staff ("in cancer, the Mets always win") and why that gallows laughter kept them whole for their patients "The Woman Who Rode Horses into the Sea" — the dying patient with no family or friends who was remembered not as a diagnosis, but as the hero she actually was The Vermont driver's license photo that has become a piece of pocket gold, the DMV clerk who told him "we've been waiting for you," and the free cup of coffee it earned His mother at 86, hours from death, delivering a perfect laugh line about her 90-year-old boyfriend — the gift Brad and Bob both call the thing you remember most And the line Bob calls the highest point of his entire comedy career — a woman dying of cancer who came up to him after a show and said: "For an hour and a half, I forgot I was sick." This isn't a celebrity comedy interview. It's a working playbook for anyone whose life has been knocked sideways by illness, grief, or loss: Hear why comedy isn't just entertainment — and why even an agnostic rabbi hesitates, then insists, on calling it holy Learn how naming the embarrassing, undignified parts of treatment out loud takes their power away Understand the difference between humor that heals and humor that wounds, and how caregivers walk that line Get Bob's answer for the person convinced they will never laugh again: not today, maybe — but someday. And the grieving mother who proved it You'll come away with hope, a few laughs you didn't expect from a cancer conversation, and a reminder that healing isn't only about eradicating disease — it's about being seen as who you really are, all the way through.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

646

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 79 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

87

Social presence

90

YouTube

66

Engagement

68