-Harold H. Benjamin, PhD
Is there any evidence that emotions can actually
have an impact on survival? Can a persistent positive or negative frame
of mind as you battle your cancer
influence whether you live or die? If so, this
provides all the motivation you need to begin making an effort to
develop skills which help you manage your mood on a day-to-day basis.
Several studies have
shown that a positive attitude or emotional state can boost your chances
of surviving cancer. In one study, among patients with metastatic cancers, those who expressed greater
hope at the time of their diagnosis survived longer. In another study,
over 400 reports of spontaneous remission of cancer were reviewed and
analyzed. The patients themselves
attributed their cure to a broad range of causes,
but only one factor was common to all the cases--a shift toward greater
hope and a positive attitude.
One clinician traced
unexpected tumor shrinkage to favorable changes in the psychosocial
situation of the patient. Examples of such changes include "a
sudden fortunate marriage; the experience of having
one's entire order of clergy engage in an intercessory prayer; sudden,
lasting reconciliation with a long-hated mother; unexpected and
enthusiastic praise and encouragement
from an expert in one's field; and the fortunate
death of a decompensated alcoholic and addicted husband who stood in the
way of a satisfying career."
The late Norman Cousins
described a national survey of oncologists (completed during his stay
at the UCLA Medical School) in his last book, Head First: The
Biology of Hope. Of the 649 who
offered their opinions on the
importance of various psychological factors in
fighting cancer, "More than 90% of the physicians said they attached the
highest value to the attitudes of hope and optimism."
All of this research is
consistent with the findings of a recent study showing that method
actors asked to generate the emotion of joy within themselves showed
an increase in the number of natural killer cells
circulating in the blood stream within 20 minutes. (Remember, a key role
of natural killer cells is to seek out and destroy tumor cells
throughout your body.) Once they got
themselves out of this positive state, their levels
of natural killer cells quickly dropped again.
Joy, of course, is the
emotion we experience during humor and laughter. So these findings are
also consistent with the findings
showing that watching a humorous video increases the number of, and
activity of, natural killer cells.
There have always been
doctors who have emphasized the importance of a "will to live" in
fighting serious diseases. Most recently, this banner has
been carried nobly by Dr. Bernie Siegel. He
emphasizes the importance of hope, determination, optimism and a
"fighting spirit" among patients who are battling cancer.
Evidence of the
importance of a fighting spirit was obtained in another study of cancer
survivors. Cancer patients with a fighting spirit were most likely to
be long-term survivors, and have no relapses.
Short-term survivors were more likely to show a "stoic, stiff upper lip
attitude," and to continue their lives either as if nothing were
different, or with a sense of
helplessness or hopelessness.
The question, of
course, is how you go about generating or sustaining hope, optimism,
determination and a fighting spirit if these are not qualities you've
shown throughout your life. Love and your own spirituality are important sources
of this hopeful and optimistic attitude. Another source is your sense
of humor. It is no coincidence that so many cancer survivors credit
their sense of humor for getting them through their ordeal. Humor helps
overcome and work through the trials of each day, and when you find a
way of laughing in the midst of your problems, you automatically shift
toward a frame of mind that invites a hopeful outlook and a conviction
that you can beat this disease.
So make it your goal to
learn to find something to laugh at every day, and to take yourself a
little less seriously, as you continue to take your illness and
your treatments very seriously.
Humor Your
Tumor (April, 1999) By Paul
McGhee, PhD.
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