by Charlotte DeFazio
Charlotte DeFazio: Tell us about the mission of Cancer Schmancer.
Fran Drescher: I like educating and motivating people to realize that all the solutions rest with knowledge of what is creating “dis-ease” and what kind of an environment you have around you. We have a very progressive program at Cancer Schmancer called “Detox Your Home.”
CD: And you also have this new flagship youth program?
FD: Yes, we have a video now called Be the Change with Jamie Foxx, available on cancerschmancer.org.
[Spots Jerry Seinfeld crossing the street.]
FD: It’s Jerry!
Jerry Seinfeld: How’re you? Nice to see you.
FD: Oh, look at you!
JS: Look at you!
FD: I’m starting to do stand-up.
JS: Good for you! It’s a wonderful profession.
FD: You could see me on Funny Women of a Certain Age on Showtime.
JS: Alright, I’ll look it up.
FD: I just talked about you today.
JS: Oh, you’re kidding.
FD: Because we’re both Queens College alumni.
JS: [Laughs] Yes!
FD: I’m so happy to run into you.
JS: Nice to see you.
FD: Bye!
[Seinfeld walks away.]
FD: He looked cute. It’s so funny, I was just talking to these two gay guys about the difference between sexy and handsome, and he was brought up. They said he’s sexy, but not handsome. I find him to be cute. I like a cute man. I like a sexy man. I’ve had handsome men. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder anyway. What’s cute to one is sexy to another.
CD: Yes. Back to Cancer Schmancer! Let’s talk about the youth program.
FD: Kids today are predicted to not live as long as their parents. We don’t want to make that a self-fulfilling prophecy, so we decided to leverage my “junior fan club.” These kids weren’t even alive when I was doing The Nanny and now they love the show and they love me, so we want to engage them. Their health is getting poorer and poorer while businesses get richer and richer, and the jig is up. Wake up and shake up. Once you wake up and smell the coffee, it’s hard to go back to sleep.
CD: So true. What are your personal go-to methods for finding peace of mind?
FD: I like to cook, arrange flowers and entertain. I’m a distance walker. I like meditation and listening to music. I love chant music. I like going to art museums—that’s a big relaxing pastime for me. And I follow a Buddhist philosophy. I’m not always perfect, but as the Buddha says, there is a middle way, and if we all gather there, the world will be a better place.
CD: You look fabulous. What are some of your health and beauty secrets?
FD: Organic everything as much as you possibly can. What are you putting in your mouth? What are you putting on your skin? All your personal care items including oral hygiene. What are you cleaning and gardening with? Take the “in, on and around you: check, choose and change challenge.” Check labels, choose eco-friendly, organic products and become the change the world so desperately needs. cancerschmancer.org