I've been thinking about the mind-body connection. We all acknowledge that there is one. Athletes know this very well. When we watch the Olympics or some other large-scale event, it is clear that the personal determination matters so much. Yet everyone enters a sports contest to win, so what is the difference?
And think about this - prior to 1954 it was absolutely impossible to run a mile in less than four minutes. But Roger Bannister, a British medical student did it in 3:59.4. One month later an Australian runner did it too. The impossible had been accomplished by more than one human being. What does impossible mean to people with cancer? It probably means that a new way of thinking is needed.
I started looking at this phenomenon more fully after reading a terrific book "Healing Psyche" by Rob van Overbruggen, PhD, a Dutchman. This book is jam packed with facts, studies, stories and more about the field of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI). It is an area I do not know much about but am now interested in exploring. (to order a copy email: order@booksurge.com )
Mr. van Overbruggen states in this book: "Currently no studies have scientifically proven that patients can control the course of their cancer with their mind. On the other hand, no study has scientifically proven that the course of cancer cannot be influenced by the mind".
I like to think about the first patient to receive treatment with a truly experimental therapy. Those of us who attend medical meetings, or read reports, will often hear about the case study of a patient who does phenomenally well. Many advocates have jokingly said they would want to be the first to receive a new treatment - that's because so many of the 'firsts' do really well relative to the next patient(s). Why is this?
I think it is may have something to do with so many minds and hearts being focused on this method succeeding. The energy, the enthusiasm, the 'something we do not know how to classify', just seems to propel these patients into long-term better health or survival. Would that we could bottle that!
"From over forty years of clinical research, psychologist Lawrence LeShan, author of Cancer as a Turning Point, developed a new kind of psychotherapy. Unlike traditional medical and psychotherapeutic approaches based on the question "What is wrong with you?" this therapy asks, "What is right with you?"
Its focus is that you find and commit to your own best and natural ways of being, relating and creating that bring zest, meaning and enthusiasm to your life. When people make certain kinds of psychological and life-style changes, they appear to create an inner "healing climate" that maximizes their potential for health".
From the website: http://www.cancerasaturningpoint.org
