Turning Grief Into Purpose When Cancer Emerges
- “Saturday Night Live” actress Maya Rudolph, 51, says she used comedy to help her cope after her mom, Minnie Riperton, passed away from metastatic breast cancer at just 31 years old. Metastatic cancer means the cancer has spread beyond its point of origin in the body to more distant body parts.
- Since the 1970s, when Riperton died from metastatic breast cancer, treatment options have improved the outlook for patients by slowing tumor growth and improving their quality of life. They include hormone therapy, chemotherapy, and targeted drugs. Sometimes, surgery and/or radiation are considered.
- Grief is defined as the devastation that occurs when we lose someone. The five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These labels help us frame and identify what we may be feeling.
- Sometimes turning to art therapy, which includes acting, music, and painting. Engaging in a form of art is a healthy way to manage challenging emotions, such as after a cancer diagnosis or losing a loved one to the disease. For Maya Rudolph, she turned to performing comedy as a coping mechanism after her mom’s passing.
“Saturday Night Live” comedian Maya Rudolph, 51, used humor and comedy as a coping mechanism after her famous mom, Minnie Riperton, died from breast cancer at just 31 years old.
“[Comedy] was very much my manifesto after because it was my only shield. You know, it was all I had. The only thing to keep me from crying,” Rudolph previously told The Guardian.
Read MoreView this post on InstagramRudolph is an Emmy award-winning actress best known for her “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) roles. Her famous parents are music producer Richard Rudolph and Minnie Riperton. Riperton’s iconic ’70s hit “Loving You” transcends time and was initially written with Maya in mind as a lullaby.
Rudolph was close to her mom and often traveled with her for music tours. When Riperton was diagnosed with cancer in 1976 at just 29 years old, she chose to press forward with her career after undergoing initial treatment.
Minnie Riperton performing “Lovin’ You” on Soul Train in 1974. pic.twitter.com/JjKbzJqV3O
— The Black Market (@theblkrenmrkt) February 1, 2024
According to KCRW, an NPR affiliate, after Riperton was diagnosed with cancer, she was given just “six months to live.” At the time of discovery, Riperton’s cancer had already metastasized or spread to other parts of the body.
Riperton became an advocate for breast cancer awareness and shared her diagnosis publicly. She even had a breast cancer awareness commercial in the late 1970s.
She underwent a mastectomy (the removal of the breast) for treatment. However, stage 4 breast cancer continued to take its toll. During some of her final performances, she was visibly struggling with her diagnosis.
“It was clear she was struggling. She was upright, but clearly, the toll of a long battle had worn her down. One hand holds the microphone while her other arm is entirely affixed to her side, unable to move,” KCRW reported.
Although Rudolph was still a child at the time, she recalls her mom’s passing as a very tough and emotional experience. Rudolph said what made grieving more difficult was how public her mom’s death was.
“It really didn’t help that it was a public experience. It was weird to grow up that way, thinking, I’m the kid whose mom died, and everybody knows it – or at least you feel like everybody knows it,” she said, according to People Magazine.
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“For many, many years, I couldn’t even tough this conversation. Up until very recently, it was still like a sting to talk about her,” Rudolph explained to The New York Times.
Rudolph said she turned to humor and comedy to help her cope with her mom’s emotional passing.
“Make no mistake, the comedy gene was in me before my mom died…[It was] the only thing to keep me from crying,” she added.
The Minni Riperton Legacy Fund for breast and women’s cancers at the Concern Foundation for Cancer Research in Los Angeles, California, was created in Riperton’s honor after her death.
Expert Resources on Metastatic Breast Cancer
- Advances in Metastatic Breast Cancer Treatments Over the Last Year Offer New Hope for Those Fighting
- Are You A Metastatic Breast Cancer Patient Curious About The Drug Enhertu? Here’s What You Need To Know
- CD4/CD6 Inhibitors For Metastatic Breast Cancer — What Are The Side Effects?
- Do You Have HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer? Here’s A Breakdown Of Some Of Your Treatment Options
- FDA Approves Diagnostic Test to Identify Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer Expressing Low Levels of HER2
- Chemo Plus Immunotherapy for Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
How Are Metastatic Breast Cancer Treatments Handled?
Treatments for metastatic (stage 4) breast cancer have evolved in the last 50 years since Riperton battled the disease. Metastatic breast cancer means the disease has spread beyond the breast and to other parts of the body. Advancements in treatment now give metastatic breast cancer patients many more options to treat and/or live with the disease.
WATCH: Understanding Metastatic Breast Cancer Treatments
For women with HER2-positive breast cancer, meaning they have high levels of a protein called HER2 on the surface of their cancer cells, targeted treatments are available. The drugs trastuzumab (Herceptin) and pertuzumab (Perjeta) have transformed the outlook for some women with late-stage breast cancers. These therapies, which are often combined with chemo, are very effective at controlling breast cancer once it has spread.
Women with triple-negative breast cancer – one of the most aggressive forms of the disease – can be treated with chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Triple-negative is traditionally one of the most challenging forms of the disease to treat because it lacks any of the main drivers of breast cancer, the estrogen receptor, the progesterone receptor, and the HER2 receptor, and it doesn’t respond to treatments that target these receptors.
For postmenopausal women with hormone-receptor-positive and HER2-negative breast cancers, a newer class of drugs called CDK4/6 inhibitors are available. These drugs have been shown to improve survival in some women with metastatic cancer.
Estrogen receptor-positive means that this type of cancer needs the hormone estrogen to grow. These CD4/CD6 drugs decrease the amount of estrogen that can be taken into a cancer cell, slowing the rate at which that cancer cell can expand.
How to Cope After Losing a Loved One to Cancer
Maya Rudolph turned to comedy to help her grieve the loss of her beloved mom. SurvivorNet wants you to know everyone grieves differently.
Grief is defined as the devastation that occurs when we lose someone. Grieving comes in five stages, commonly referred to as the “five stages of grief.”
The stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These labels help us frame and identify what we may be feeling. These stages can occur in any order.
As you find yourself experiencing some of these stages, remember that the emotions you are feeling are meaningful but also temporary. If you approach them with compassion, kindness, and eventual acceptance, you will return from this period with a renewed sense of resilience and purpose.
Butler took a few months to go through the stages of grief, but he found renewed purpose in his craft.
WATCH: Managing the stages of grief.
“Grief comes in waves,” says Dr. Scott Irwin, a psychiatrist and Director of Supportive Care Services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
“They’re grieving the change in their life; the future they had imagined is now different.”
Some days can be more challenging than others, but Dr. Irwin says talk therapy can be helpful. It’s important to reach out to your doctor, a therapist, or support groups in your community for the help you need.
Acting and performing comedy is a form of artistry and was likely therapeutic for Rudolph.
Art encompasses many forms, including acting, music, and painting. Engaging in a form of art is a healthy way to manage challenging emotions, such as after a cancer diagnosis or losing a loved one to the disease.
A study published in the European Journal of Cancer Care examined the effects of art therapy in cancer care. The study involved 587 cancer patients and revealed that “art therapy significantly reduced anxiety symptoms, depression symptoms, and fatigue.”
It also “improved the quality of life of cancer patients.”
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