Music and Healing
- Singer Kelly Clarkson, 39, moved country star Garth Brooks, 59, to tears performing his song The Dance at the 43rd annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C. Brooks will be honored on the pre-taped program, which airs on June 6 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
- The song is attached to another emotional moment in pop culture. Teresa Shaw, who was battling cancer, caught Brooks’ attention at a Minneapolis concert in 2014 by holding up a sign that said “Chemo this morning, Garth tonight.”
- The power of music is almost indescribable, and many cancer patients say that it helped them get through their battles.
A year and a half later, Shaw had indeed kicked her triple-negative breast cancer’s ass. The triumphant cancer warrior headed back for another show in Omaha, Nebraska in 2016, this time with a sign saying she beat cancer.
Brooks had framed and signed her original sign, with a "Luv ya! God bless your family" on the back. Brooks kept the sign safe while on tour and gave it back to her when they met in Omaha.
"It was like meeting a friend … just a friend," Shaw told the Des Moines Register. "He gave me a big hug and asked how I was doing."
The Power of Music
Many people need music to process emotions, whether you’re happy, sad, angry, or sick. When you identify with the melody of a certain song or certain lyrics, the connecting force can be powerful. Shaw’s love, and need, for music is what brought her to that 2014 Garth Brooks show while she was battling for her life. And that show, in turn, changed her life.
Cancer survivor and music-enthusiast Joel Naftelberg explained the power of music to SurvivorNet in a previous interview.
Related: Glam Rock Chemo: How Air Guitar Got This Survivor Through Cancer Treatment
“I have found music and rock and roll to be transformational,” the pancreatic cancer survivor told us. “Doesn’t necessarily solve anything, but it does let us dance on our problems for at least an hour or two. Nothing better on a Friday afternoon than to hang with your friends and listen to beautiful music.”
He also expressed a big frustration for cancer survivors: People assessing that you are okay based on how you look on the outside.
“I think the hardest thing for me has been how many times people have tried to compliment me and to be kind and tell me how good I look, even though I have cancer,” he explained. “I may not wear it on my face, I may not wear it on this body outside, but inside, there’s a disease that’s living and growing.”
Even when people are out at a concert, like Teresa Shaw, looking like she’s having the time of her life, she was also facing something much more challenging, but musicand her music idol Garth Brookshelped her get through.
“The people that were my heroes in entertainment and rock and roll have been my friends and have been some of the most supportive people that I’ve had in my life,” Naftelberg said. “I feel very blessed.”
Music is Healing for Cancer Survivors
Treatment for Early Stage Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
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