Good news for people who love bad news: a positive mindset, faith in a Higher Power, or plain ole optimism will NOT help you beat cancer. Penn’s very own James C. Coyne is lead author of a forthcoming study that concludes a patient’s emotional status has no bearing on cancer survival.
The nature of the study itself isn’t particularly uplifting. Coyne studied some 1,093 patients, 646 of whom died during the length of the study. Hoorah!
It’s interesting to see this news come from Penn, the same school whose faculty have notably championed the concept of Resilience. In fact, once upon a time a certain Australian taught his Psych 1 students that optimistic women were likelier to beat breast cancer. Looks like Coyne has “Shattèd” all over that opinion.
The news comes at a significant point in time. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, which is, in part, intended to build a foundation of support for victims. Given Coyne’s findings, should these support groups disband and wander home with their pink ribbons between their legs?
‘Course not. Emotional strength and support is crucial for the patient’s quality of life. Hope is preferable to depression, even if neither has any impact on one’s survival. While we live, we ought to live happily.
Tags: Medicine, Psychology
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October 24th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
Nick, nice post. As a cancer survivor, news of this study fascinates me. I have my doubts, however, that a good mindset has absolutely no effect on a patient’s survival rate. Perhaps there is no scientific correlation, but I think most survivors would argue that staying positive really helped them get through the most difficult days. Thanks.