BEIJING, Oct. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Positive
attitudes are not as helpful to cancer survival
as people usually think they are, U.S. researchers reported
Monday.
"I wish it were true that cancer survival was influenced
by the patient's emotional state," says University of Pennsylvania School of
Medicine behavioral scientist James C. Coyne, Ph.D., who led the study team.
"But given that it is not, I think we should stop blaming the
patient."
Cancer patients are often encouraged to stay with a
positive outlook and many people believe that a good mood helps recovery
and survival.
"The hope that we can fight cancer by influencing
emotional states appears to have been misplaced," concluded the study.
Dr. James Coyne and colleagues from the University of
Pennsylvania included 1,093 patients in the study with head and neck
cancer who completed quality-of-life questionnaires during their treatment. This
is one of the largest and most rigorously designed investigations ever to
examine the issue.
"If cancer patients want psychotherapy or to be in a
support group, they should be given the opportunity to do so," the
team wrote in the journal Psychological Bulletin. "There can be lots
of emotional and social benefits. But [patients] should not seek such
experiences solely on the expectation that they are extending their lives."
(Agencies)
