For many years it has been suggested that a personÆs psychological response to a diagnosis of cancer can affect the course of their disease (Greer, Morris and Pettingale, 1979). These researchers conducted a prospective study which examined the psychological state of mind of 69 female patients diagnosed with breast cancer, and related these responses to their medical outcomes five years later. The study found that women who initially reacted to the diagnosis with denial or a fighting spirit were much more likely to have a recurrence-free survival than women who reacted to the diagnosis with acceptance or feelings of hopelessness and helplessness.
Spiegel, Bloom, Kraemer and Gottheil (1989) studied a group of 86 patients with metastatic breast cancer prospectively. Half of the patients received an intervention of one year of weekly support group therapy with self-hypnosis for pain, and the other half were assigned to a control group. Both groups received routine oncological care. At 10 year follow-up, only three patients were alive. Death records indicated that for the intervention group, survival post-intervention was an average of 36.6 months, whereas for the control group it was 18.9 months, which was a significant difference. This study indicated that psychological intervention could prolong cancer survival rates in those with metastatic breast cancer.
These study sparked an interest in the possibility that a personÆs attitude towards their illness may affect its outcome.
The fact that faith and hope can affect healing has a basis in science, according to Contavespi (1994). She reports that a study of 86 women with breast cancer who attended a support group as part of their treatment plan lived an extra 18 months on average than women who did not attend such a group. Contavespi reports on another such study , this time of patients with melanoma, the most malignant form of skin cancer. In this study, the...