megram - Index

megram - 55JulGTA - Index

Keeping Positive with Cancer has Value
Longevity isn’t the key to happiness.
I decided that long ago. Before I was diagnosed
with “infiltrating ductile carcinoma” last month.
Before I had the required breast cancer surgery last
week. And definitely before I read the report of a
University of Pennsylvania study concluding that
cancer patients’ emotional attitudes do not affect
their lifespan.
This study denies the previously held theory
that negativity stresses the body and harms the
immune system, so weakening a patient further.
Therefore, positive thoughts should have the opposite
effect. Not according to the headline in the
October 22 Ottawa Citizen:“Positive attitude won’t
prolong cancer patient’s life: study.”
I could have been depressed by this front-page
news. Instead, I laughed at the placement and the
timing, coinciding as they did with my situation and
the generally held belief that good thoughts help
healing.Think how popular books such as Rhonda
Byrne’s The Secret are.This piece of pop psychology
— I am not suggesting that it is in the same league
as a serious medical study — promulgates the idea
that positive thinking is the route to the fulfillment
of any wish.This may or may not be true, but, bearing
in mind that The Secret has outsold the latest
Harry Potter bestseller, it certainly indicates what
people want to believe.
More than 30 years ago, an oncologist that I
knew socially said to me that he always felt very
sorry for patients who were afraid and depressed
about their future.“They enjoy so little after they
are diagnosed,” he said. “The cowards have the
most difficult time. I don’t think the brave and the
positive live any longer, but they certainly have a
better time of it.”
And, isn’t enjoying whatever time you have left
what matters? Even if the mind cannot slow the progression
of a disease, it can certainly lessen the “disease”
you feel.
Making the most of the moment and appreciating
what life has to offer is not a Pollyanna
response. It is an acknowledgement that quality of
life is of greater importance than longevity.As far as
I am concerned, it is simply sensible to enjoy the
July/August 2008 • 65 • Fifty-Five Plus Magazine
good things in your life and not to be weighed
down by bad news.
My first thought after being diagnosed was that
the most important job in my life was done. Both my
children are launched, successful in their careers and
happy with their lives. I don’t have to worry about
them.
This Thanksgiving — which included attending
a blessing of the animals — I really felt that I had a
lot to be thankful for. My family and friends are
showing in a million ways how much they care.I am
showered with phone calls, flowers, cards and gifts
of food.
When I walk with the dogs, I take more
notice of the beauty of the trees, the wonders of
hundreds of geese flying south, everything
around me. I just won a writing prize and have
heard that I am short-listed for two more. I feel
very strongly that, wherever I go from here, this is
a good time in my life.
Focusing on the good things cannot help but
make pain, discomfort and potential further treatment
seem less important. Of course, I dislike being
hooked up to a drain to remove unwanted fluids —
but it is temporary only. Of course, I am concerned
about dealing with radiation and possibly
chemotherapy. Of course, I hope to stay on this side
of the turf for a while longer.
But I am not going to waste time hankering for
longevity.I will enjoy today and tomorrow and however
many tomorrows after that are on the cards.
And I don’t think I will worry too much about the
findings of the Pennsylvania study. I might instead
consider how many patients with terminal diseases
outlive the time suggested by the medical prognosis.
It seems unlikely that these would be the people
who did not believe they had any chance of beating
the odds.
Either way,the crux of the matter is not survival
but quality of life, however long or short it is destined
to be.
Previously published in the Ottawa Citizen in
October 2007.