The Funny Thing About Cancer

Hi. I’m Sam. I do stand-up comedy and have brain cancer. I know — it’s sad. Stand-up comedy is an awful career path. Ba-dum ching! 

I feel like I’m the only stand-up who jokes about a life with cancer. It’s not, “Let’s point at cancer and laugh about it.” But one of the principal rules of comedy is to write about yourself and what you know. 

I was diagnosed with brain cancer in 1997, when I was 11 months old. I had surgery that year and again in 2001. I never had any radiation treatments, so I feel I missed my one real chance to get superpowers. 

What I remember most is the weekly chemotherapy I had for almost four years after those surgeries. Showing up every Tuesday, sitting in the big chair, hooked up to the IV drip and watching TV, coloring stuff, eating snacks. I remember once they had a guy dressed as Spider-Man coming down the halls. That was fun. 

The cancer’s still there. I get an MRI every year to monitor it. Fortunately, I haven’t had any significant issues or lasting effects. 

My mom gives glowing reviews of Cleveland Clinic, but I was a kid so I was kind of blissfully unaware of everything. I remember Rita, one of my nurses from chemotherapy, stopped by my room after my third surgery in 2010, which was pretty cool. I remember Tom with Child Life Services. And I remember getting a stuffed animal at the end. The staff was the best. 

Samson Auble’s grandmother, Mary Auble, is a member of the Pyramid Legacy Society. His grandfather, John Auble, was general counsel for Cleveland Clinic and was instrumental in opening Cleveland Clinic Florida.