News, Special Updates and Events

View Rx Laughter Presentation Video (5 min., 27 sec.)

Rx Laughter is going to be starting a project where we will review & choose age appropriate funny video & audio content done by individuals, which we will then show to patients in health care settings to help them feel better during  their medical procedures.  More info to come soon!

Rx Laughter Family  Retreat - Spring 2006

Please check back for more details about this event in the coming weeks.

Rx Laughter expands therapeutic entertainment to Adult Hospice patients 

More information about our expansion in Hospice Care will be forthcoming in the Summer of 2005. Please check this section then. Thank you!

The Pediatric Rx Laughter Channel expands to include communication between inpatients in Critical Isolation

More info to appear in this section shortly. Thank you.

Peek Inside for Benefit Photos!  #1,  #2

Quote from Ray Romano: "I am honored to be helping Rx Laughter raise funds for their research on how comedy can be an important part of treating seriously ill children and teens. As a dad, I know that there is nothing more important than the health and happiness of my children. As a performer, it's a great feeling to be able to give back to the community of people who have been so supportive of me throughout the years by doing whatever I can to help Rx Laughter continue its very important research." I hope you will join me in these efforts. Thank you."

Rx Laughter Research Findings:

Our early findings indicate an ability for healthy children to withstand painful medical procedures longer and with less overall anxiety and stress as they watch these funny comedy programs and films that we have chosen to be a part of the Rx Laughter project.  This information has positive implications regarding how this entertainment can be integrated into numerous treatment areas at hospitals where children, teens and adults undergo painful procedures such as chemotherapy, dialysis, treatment for burns and wounds, orthopedic injuries, bone marrow treatments and traumatic injuries. 

Dr. Stuber, UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center researcher, Professor of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, and the Principal Investigator of Rx Laughter at UCLA has presented this data at the annual American Medical Association Media Briefing of February 21, 2002 (click here).

Our next phase of Research will focus on learning more about how comedy programs can be used to help patients manage severe pain, improve immune function and decrease side effects of difficult treatments, such as nausea and lack of appetite as a result of chemotherapy treatments.

PHOTOS!
The Second Annual Comedy Central Benefit
for Rx Laughter (2003):

Special Thanks to those below, for their above-and-beyond support that contributed to the success of this Benefit:

Rory Rosegarten, Jeff Sussman, Barry Katz, Tony Fox, 
Joann Grigioni, Dan Spelling of Spellling Communications,
Matt Brown, Maureen Bennett, Monica Lagos, Neveen Mostada, Andrew Tavoni, Emily Wassler, Jason Grimley, Jerold Franks, 
Anna Cross, Phil Shofner, Steve Keeley, 
Janet Daily, Lonnie Zeltzer M.D., Shep Kaufman & 
the Idea Asylum team, Cyrani Ackerman of the Upstairs Studio, Daniel Longmire, Getty Images/ Amanda Edwards, Liz Gould, 
Hill Lithograph, CLS Limousines, and Creative Technology.

Very Special Thanks to Ray, Kevin, Dane & Megan. Please click here for 2003 Benefit Photos.

We are deeply appreciative to Mervyn's and Good Guys for their very generous Sponsor support: 

Mervyn's:

Good Guys:

2003 Montreal Just for Laughs Festival Endorses Rx Laughter
 
The 2003 Montreal Just for Laughs Festival and the JFL organization has endorsed Rx Laughter. The Just For Laughs Festival expressed their support of Rx Laughter by displaying the Rx Laughter informational materials throughout their ten day festival (July 10-20, 2003), and by donating numerous tapes of their library of comedy shows to us. We thank the Just for Laughs organization for their generosity and ongoing support.

For the Just for Laughs press release supporting Rx Laughter, click here. http://www.hahaha.com/home/news.aspx?id=36.

For information about the Just for Laughs Festival, go to www.hahaha.com/home 

First Annual Comedy Central Benefit for Rx Laughter !
Starring Ray Romano and Friends
(Click here for Benefit Photos, Special Thanks & Articles )

Ray Romano (star of "Everybody Loves Raymond") headlined the hilarious First Annual Comedy Central/Comedy Rx benefit for Rx Laughter at UCLA's beautiful Royce Hall on September 27, 2002. Joining Ray in his support of Rx Laughter were Kevin James (star of "King of Queens"), Wendy Liebman (see below), Tom Kenny (voice of "Spongebob Squarepants") and Steve Mittleman. The event was underwritten by Comedy Central and Adlink. Our very generous Benefit Sponsors were Pacificare and Wolfgang Puck Wood-Fried Pizza. All ticket proceeds went to Rx Laughter.

Rx Laughter is deeply appreciative to everyone for their dedication, in kind donations, devotion and unwavering commitment in making this event a great deal of fun and a huge success!

The money raised will help to continue researching how comedy and distractive entertainment can be offered as a prescription to improve physical and emotional health during medical treatments
for children and teens with life- threatening and painful chronic illnesses.

For Benefit Photos, Special Thanks & Articles, please click here!

We will keep you updated on the progress of all of the above, with some more exciting news coming shortly!