Remembering the late 640 Toronto radio host and comedian Sandra Carusi

Laughter really does make the world go round. And for Sandra Carusi, it helped to heal a lot of what she went through.

On Aug.13, Toronto comedian and radio host Sandra Carusi lost her battle with breast cancer. She had been battling cancer for the last five years and was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in April 2014.

Global News anchor and producer Susan Hay had the chance to speak with her last September.

“How many times have you heard the word cancer?” Hay said.

“This is my fifth recurrence in three years,” Carusi said at the time. “One of the first things that struck me with the disease was “wow, like you’re stripped of everything. My ability to be a mother, to be a partner, to be a friend, a colleague and to be a woman.”

Carusi spent 19 years at Corus Entertainment as a sales executive but what she was most passionate about was comedy. Carusi was the executive producer of three Corus produced radio shows. And one of Carusi’s biggest career accomplishments was getting comedian and actor Russell Peters on her radio show – a big deal since others had tried booking him without success.

Throughout her many treatments, transfusions and surgeries, what many believe got her through was her positive attitude and of course … laughter.

“I had no clue that she did stand up comedy at all and then all of a sudden she’s doing her show on AM640, “Inside Jokes” and she’s got this like long, long catalogue of comedians coming in all the time,” said Fred Kennedy, host of afternoon drive on Q107.

“I was blown away.”

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She was the proud mother of two beautiful boys Patrick, 12, and Luke, nine. She was also a dearly loved sister, aunt and friend to so many.

READ MORE: Battling the odds despite the diagnosis

“I really just miss Sandra as a person,” said Chris Van Allen, account manager at Corus Entertainment.

“She was such a wonderful person. She was full of energy, full of life and an incredible person to know.”

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Carusi had that larger-than-life personality, she was a trailblazer, a great supporter of Canadian comedy, she was real, and an incredible mother to her boys. She left us far too soon  – yet she will remain in the hearts of many for years to come.

“Something is missing from the hallways,” Kennedy said. “ There’s some people that are more than a personality and voice – they’ve got a certain special something, and that was Sandra.”