R.I.P: For Cancer specialist Dr. Robert Buckman Laughter Was The Second Best Medicine

By Charmaine Gooden

Dr. Robert Buckman, British born author and Princess Margaret Hospital oncologist who often spoke about the role of laughter in medicine, even in apparently grave scenarios, died in his sleep Sunday while flying from London to Toronto. He was 63. The cause of death is still unknown. Dr. Buckman was interviewed many times for Zoomer Magazine.

In his 39-year career as a cancer physician, Buckman authored 14 books, including an “unauthorized autobiography” called Not Dead Yet, and produced more than 45 humour-driven medical information videos with British actor-comedian John Cleese of Monty Python, whom he met while performing comedy with the University of Cambridge’s Footlights Revue in the early 1970s. Much of his recent work surrounded doctor-patient communication.