Can the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop help with surviving cancer? For me, the answer is — yes.
At the 2018 workshop, I was a relatively new writer — I’m a late bloomer — and, like many attendees, I was inspired by the instructors and keynote speakers, and lifted up by the supportive atmosphere. I gained the courage to keep writing and join a writing group.
With this courage and the support of my group, I participated in Pitchapalooza at the 2020 workshop. Between the feedback for my pitch and the knowledge gained through the workshop, my writing confidence grew.
In early 2021, I started losing my appetite. Constant nausea crept in right before my pee turned dark and my poop became light in color. After more than a month of tests, on March 24, I received the diagnosis — pancreatic cancer.
The news was terrifying, because the five-year survival rate at that time was 10%. But through the workshop, I learned my favorite Erma Bombeck quote, which became my mantra: “If you can’t make it better, you can laugh at it.”
Laughing and keeping a sense of humor helped me keep a positive attitude. That attitude made a difference as I went through a major surgery called the Whipple, followed by chemo. For a couple of years, I had no evidence of disease.
In 2024, routine scans showed the cancer had spread to my lungs. Unfortunately, I had to miss the workshop that year to have a new chemo port installed. After chemo and radiation, it looked like everything was going in the right direction. Then more spots appeared in my lungs, prompting yet another chemo.
I learned a few weeks ago that this last chemo didn’t work — the cancer actually grew. There are some treatment options to explore, but this still sucks. It’s a situation that I can’t make better, so I’ll continue laughing at it.
My faith, family and friends have helped me through this cancer roller coaster ride, and so has the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, which gave me a boost in courage, confidence and comedy — I know it’s laughter, but I like alliteration.
I was thrilled to learn the 2026 workshop was scheduled for the same week I celebrate officially becoming a five-year survivor of pancreatic cancer. And I am so grateful to be here.
At the 2018 workshop, I was a relatively new writer — I’m a late bloomer — and, like many attendees, I was inspired by the instructors and keynote speakers, and lifted up by the supportive atmosphere. I gained the courage to keep writing and join a writing group.
With this courage and the support of my group, I participated in Pitchapalooza at the 2020 workshop. Between the feedback for my pitch and the knowledge gained through the workshop, my writing confidence grew.
In early 2021, I started losing my appetite. Constant nausea crept in right before my pee turned dark and my poop became light in color. After more than a month of tests, on March 24, I received the diagnosis — pancreatic cancer.
The news was terrifying, because the five-year survival rate at that time was 10%. But through the workshop, I learned my favorite Erma Bombeck quote, which became my mantra: “If you can’t make it better, you can laugh at it.”
Laughing and keeping a sense of humor helped me keep a positive attitude. That attitude made a difference as I went through a major surgery called the Whipple, followed by chemo. For a couple of years, I had no evidence of disease.
In 2024, routine scans showed the cancer had spread to my lungs. Unfortunately, I had to miss the workshop that year to have a new chemo port installed. After chemo and radiation, it looked like everything was going in the right direction. Then more spots appeared in my lungs, prompting yet another chemo.
I learned a few weeks ago that this last chemo didn’t work — the cancer actually grew. There are some treatment options to explore, but this still sucks. It’s a situation that I can’t make better, so I’ll continue laughing at it.
My faith, family and friends have helped me through this cancer roller coaster ride, and so has the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, which gave me a boost in courage, confidence and comedy — I know it’s laughter, but I like alliteration.
I was thrilled to learn the 2026 workshop was scheduled for the same week I celebrate officially becoming a five-year survivor of pancreatic cancer. And I am so grateful to be here.
— Rhonda Havig
Rhonda Havig is a writer and reader, whose work has appeared on Creepy Podcast, as well as in Cryptids, Kaiju & Corn and Labor of Love: A Literary Mama Anthology. She has contributed to the University of Dayton Magazine and Literary Mama, where she also served as managing editor.