Individual
Norman Cousins
Summary
Details
His Story
In 1964, Norman Cousins (1915–1990), a prominent American journalist and editor of The Saturday Review, was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis (a severe, progressive connective tissue disease/arthritis of the spine). Doctors gave him a very poor prognosis — roughly 1 in 500 chance of recovery — and told him he would likely become paralyzed and die within months.
Instead of accepting the grim outlook, Cousins took charge of his own care in collaboration with his physician, Dr. William Hitzig. He:
- Checked out of the hospital and moved into a hotel room.
- Took massive doses of intravenous Vitamin C.
- Prescribed himself laughter therapy — watching comedy films, especially Marx Brothers movies and episodes of Candid Camera.
He discovered that 10 minutes of genuine belly laughter gave him about 2 hours of pain-free sleep. He continued this regimen, and against all odds, he made a remarkable recovery.
The Book
He documented his experience in the bestselling book: Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient: Reflections on Healing and Regeneration (1979).
This book became a landmark in the mind-body medicine movement. It helped popularize the idea that positive emotions, laughter, hope, and patient involvement can significantly influence healing. It inspired research into psychoneuroimmunology (how the mind affects the immune system) and laughter/yoga therapy.
Note: Technically, Cousins had a crippling autoimmune/collagen disease rather than cancer, but his story is frequently referenced in cancer survivor communities and "laughter as medicine" discussions. Many people loosely remember it as a "cancer cured by funny movies" tale because of its dramatic impact.
His work remains influential today and helped establish the Norman Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA.