Humor and Oncology

Most clinical oncologists face the general perception that their specialty is constantly both humorless and depressing. The truth, as many medical oncologists are aware, is that the specialty offers a great deal of emotional variability. Anecdotally, the use of humor is widespread in the oncologist-patient relationship and in patient literature. Humor serves many roles for the patient, their family, and the treating physician. Limited evidence suggests that the use of humor is becoming more widespread within patientbased literature; the profession has largely ignored this aspect of cancer care.