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He Had No Idea He Had Cancer While Filming His Comedy Special… Jamie Campbell Is Still Laughing

  • Jun 24
  • 3 min read

What do you do when life hands you something terrifying, uncertain, and completely outside your control?


If you’re Jamie Campbell, you start looking for the joke.


Jamie is a comedian and actor you may recognize from Chicago Fire, Hollywood Darlings, and the Emmy-nominated series Boondoggle. He also recently released a comedy special with Dry Bar Comedy.


But here’s the part he didn’t know while filming it: He had cancer.



During the special, Jamie talks about struggling with an iron deficiency. A short time later, he learned that the deficiency was being caused by colon cancer. That diagnosis eventually led to surgery to remove his entire large intestine, genetic testing, ongoing screenings, and another uncertain medical situation involving his thyroid.


In this conversation, Jamie gets incredibly honest about what it’s like to live with that uncertainty—and how he decides what deserves his energy.


His approach is simple but powerful: focus on what you can control, take action where you can, and refuse to let fear steal the joy from the life you still get to live.


We also talk about Jamie’s journey into comedy, from moving constantly as a kid and using humor to connect with people, to studying at Second City and receiving an unforgettable vote of confidence from Hannibal Buress.


Jamie shares why he made a decision years ago to stop using comedy as a weapon and start using it to bring people together. We discuss the real connection created when a room laughs together, why positive comedy still has the power to challenge people, and what happens when an audience refuses to laugh because you suggest that we should listen to women.


And somehow, this episode also includes Jamie getting into a wrestling ring with WWE Hall of Famer Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake, taking several fake punches, being placed in a sleeper hold, and receiving a surprisingly decent haircut.


This conversation is funny, vulnerable, hopeful, and a strong reminder that laughter doesn’t mean we’re ignoring the hard parts of life.


Sometimes laughter is how we find enough light to keep moving through them.


🎙 Listen to the full episode of Laugh or Death with Jamie Campbell.





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Episode Minute-By-Minute:


  • 00:00 Meet Comedian Jamie Campbell

  • 00:48 The Childhood Pony That Taught Jamie About Mortality

  • 03:29 Using Humor to Survive Being the New Kid

  • 06:44 The National Guard, Theater, and an Unexpected Career Path

  • 08:33 The Late Acceptance Letter That Led to Second City

  • 11:20 When Hannibal Buress Called Jamie Hilarious

  • 13:25 Why Jamie Refuses to Use Comedy to Hurt People

  • 16:29 How Shared Laughter Creates Human Connection

  • 18:44 The Joke About Listening to Women That Divided a Crowd

  • 22:25 When an Audience Snapped Instead of Laughing

  • 23:45 Jamie Reveals His Colon Cancer Diagnosis

  • 24:50 Filming a Comedy Special Without Knowing He Had Cancer

  • 25:55 Focusing on What You Can Control

  • 27:23 Jamie’s Health Today and Living With Lynch Syndrome

  • 30:30 Why Men Avoid Important Health Screenings

  • 31:30 Paul Attempts to Write a Colonoscopy Joke

  • 32:45 Getting Into the Ring With Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake

  • 39:45 Choosing Adventure in the Face of Fear

  • 41:15 Jamie’s Next Comedy Special and Where to Find Him


 
 
 

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