Is it possible to defeat cancer by force of spirit?

At present, cancer patients are interested in a controversial theory that their physical illness has psychological roots. This theory is based on studies that suggested that people overwhelming their emotions or prone to depression are at greater risk of developing cancer. The main idea is this: people give their emotions to devour themselves.
Some studies have found a link between the mood of the patient and survival. Thus, observations of women who had breast cancer at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Surrey in England showed that those of them who were not depressed or did not consider their situation to be very serious were more likely to remain alive during the 5-10 years in comparison with those who considered their situation hopeless.
Francis Weaver believes that you can cultivate a fighting spirit within yourself. This 69-year-old woman, a former designer, the grandmother of four grandchildren, in June 1991, learned that she had ovarian cancer. Her ovaries were removed and chemotherapy was prescribed. She, like the patients of the Royal Marsden Hospital, refuses to believe in the worst. "I know that I have from 50 to 80 percent of the chances of survival," she says. But I do not read anything about my illness. I do not want to know anything about her. I do not think this will help me, I feel that she does not win me, I feel great. I feel that I'm getting better. I try to keep this attitude. To think differently would be too difficult. "
Doctors warn that a positive attitude can complement, but do not replace the treatment. Professor Barry Cassillet, MD, from Duke University, observed women with advanced and intermediate stages of cancer and found that the psychological aspect of whether women were in a state of prostration or were determined to fight for their lives had no effect on survival. She says that there are often cases when patients, reassured by the words that they can defeat cancer by an internal setting for healing, abandon traditional therapeutic methods of treatment in favor of other, often contradictory methods.
"It would be great if we could get rid of cancer with the power of our will," adds Dr. Cassillet. But, if it were possible, everyone would be cured, And we know that this does not happen. " Studies have shown that psychological factors can affect the immune system, but this does not necessarily lead to the cure of the disease.
However, most authoritative experts, including Dr. Kassilet, agree that the patient's attitude can play an extremely important role in the treatment of cancer, not because the functioning of the immune system is greatly altered, but because the correct setting helps women comply with all strict prescriptions. It also helps women and their families cope with the situation.
"Indeed, adds Jimmy Holland, MD from the Sloan-Kettering Memorial Cancer Center," positive rejection "can be a very useful mechanism in the fight against the disease."