Scott Burton is an award-winning comic, champion juggler, author, and cancer survivor. He shares his story internationally with health-care professionals and other cancer survivors. A veteran of hundreds of shows since his diagnosis, Burton confronts the mystique and fear of chronic disease.
Burton is a survivor osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer normally found in children, though he was diagnosed at age 30. Treatment included a year of chemotherapy and a bone transplant.
A performer all his life, Burton started out doing street theater, juggling, and comedy in his hometown of Minneapolis. By the time of his diagnosis, Burton was a headlining stand-up comic and world-class juggler, performing with Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld and writing for prime-time television.
Today, Burton continues performing. He believes the gift of laughter helps cancer survivors (and those facing any trial in life) feel normal and see their lives as precious. “I felt, and still do, that each moment laughing is a moment you are—if only for a second—in love with life,” he says. Scott combines comedy with high-energy juggling, sending a life-affirming message to cancer survivors of all age ages.
Scott Burton has been a keynote speaker at the Oncology Nursing Society’s National Congress, the Association of Community Cancer Centers’ National Conference, the Network for Oncology Communication and Research, and at cancer survivor events from coast to coast. He is author of A Life in the Balance and numerous articles on humor and health.