Daily Journal staff report

Peotone resident and comedian Tracy DeGraaf uses comedy for more than getting laughs — she shares hope. A Christian and breast cancer survivor, she works with churches and healthcare.

“When I go to churches, they end with the gospel message. When I bring my show to hospitals, my closing message is cancer screenings,” DeGraaf said in a news release.

DeGraaf’s disease was caught in stage one after a routine mammogram. Her tagline is “Comedy That Saves.”

“I picked that because Jesus and a mammogram saves. Jesus will save your soul, and a mammogram will save your life,” she said.

At the beginning of 2020, DeGraaf completed a rebrand that included working with a management team; a photoshoot in Franklin, Tenn.; and a new website. Donations from friends, family and fans covered the costs.

“This was a grassroots effort. I couldn’t have done it on my own,” she said. “I had a budget and put it out there, and together we made it happen. Then everything shut down.

“I thought the shutdown was going to be 14 days, and then we would go back to normal,” DeGraaf continue. “I think we all hoped it would be that way, but 14 days turned into over a year.”

After being sidelined for more than 18 months, DeGraaf is picking up where she left off pre-pandemic by filming her comedy special, “Life Happens Laugh Anyway,” from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Dec. 4 at Christ Community Church, 103 W. Corning Ave., Peotone.

Doors open at 6 p.m., and tickets are available through EventBrite.com for $20 each. Each attendee will receive an autographed copy of DeGraaf’s book “Laugh Anyway Mom” ($15 value).

For more information, call 708-606-7504, and for more information about Tracy DeGraaf, go to TracyDeGraaf.com.