Emotions Do Not Affect Cancer Survival According to Study
A study, expected to be published in the Dec. 1 issue of Cancer, found that neither positive or negative emotional states predict how long a person with cancer will survive. The University of Pennsylvania researchers found by the end of the five-year study that among head and neck cancer patients, their emotional status had no effect on the course of the cancer or the patient’s survival. All of the 1,100 patients in the study were in a clinical trial for new head and neck cancer treatments.
An Australian study released in the February issue of Cancer showed similar results for lung cancer patients. Patients in that study also completed questionnaires about their outlook before treatment and after treatment.
Michael Fisch, is an associate professor of gastrointestinal medical oncology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, who treats head and neck cancer patients in Houston. According to Fisch, survival also has more to do with access to health care and the biology of the cancer in question than attitude.
To read more details about the study visit Medline Plus.
Personal Note from Lady Sharon:
Each person is unique and there are many factors contributing to ill health and what causes different diseases. I do believe that it is important to take responsibility for one’s health. However, I do not believe that having a great attitude will always cure an illness. If you have ever visited a children’s hospital, you will see many very ill children. But you will also see tremendous joy and a great attitude in these little Warriors. If attitude were the only factor on curing illnesses then children should not be dying. Anyone who has been close to their pet will also know that if attitude cured illnesses exclusively, then their friends would never leave them.
Different personalities deal with illness differently and it is hard to know what the patient is going through if you have not walked in their shoes. This study may help those patients who feel guilty for being ill. There are cases where patients seemed to be cured by their positive attitude. But this may not work for everyone, and when it does not work, it can be very discouraging for the patient.
It is very difficult to be positive when your world is falling down around you. I salute all those Warriors of chronic pain and Warriors of chronic illness for just surviving the ordeal. I understand the kind of courage that it takes to just make it through another day. Perhaps a positive attitude will not cure all illnesses, but I do think keeping joy in your heart keeps something alive in you.
Scribe of Knights of the Pain Table
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