The influence of mind on cancer.

Cunningham, Alastair J.

doi:10.1037/h0080019

Cited by 23 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 128 publications

(124 reference statements)

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“…The medical and scientific community currently views the evidence for such influence to be uncertain (e.g. Ader, 1981; Sklar and Anisman, 1981; Fox, 1983; Cunningham, 1985;Cassileth et al, 1985; Stamm and Steggles, 1987; Redd and Jacobsen, 1988; Hurny and Bernhard, 1989; Biondi and Kotzalidis, 1990). In our own clinical work, we find that most cancer patients have at least familiarized themselves with the popular literature on psychological approaches to self-healing (e.g.…”

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confidence: 71%

Belief in psychological effects on cancer

1993

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The present study surveyed 135 oncology care-givers' and 442 university students' beliefs about psychological influences in cancer. Care-givers were more sensitive than students to the potential risks of such beliefs and physicians were in general more reserved than other care-givers. Overall, the majority agreed strongly that psychological factors can influence physical health and that stress and coping style can influence the course of cancer, including its curability. Many also agreed that stress and coping style may be contributing causes of cancer. Both groups rated various psychological tasks and strategies as being very helpful physically to persons with cancer and most indicated that they would adopt such approaches if they themselves had cancer. The paper distinguishes believers from non-believers and presents a cluster analysis of believers' responses to the claims that psychological factors can influence health and cancer. The distinct patterns of response that emerged provide empirical support for the distinction made by Doan and Gray (1992) between Strong and Weak formulations of psychological influence and for the distinctions made by Northouse and Wortman (1990) between Moral, Compensatory and Medical models of helping and coping. The limitations of the study are addressed along with the implications of the findings for cancer care. 1990).In the literature on coping, the importance of a sense of personal control over health in general, and cancer in particular, is well-documented (e.g.

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confidence: 71%

Belief in psychological effects on cancer

1993

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“…What do these results say about the potential for prolonging life in cancer patients given adjunctive psychological therapy? It is ironic that our team, which for years has been arguing from indirect evidence that such prolongation is possible (Cunningham, 1985) has not shown an effect in a randomized trial, whereas Spiegel and colleagues did find an effect when they did not, apparently, anticipate one (Spiegel et al, 1989;Spiegel, 1990)! Further trials of this kind are in process; it is likely that we will soon be faced with a number of conflicting results, which will be interpreted by some to mean that there is no impact of mental state on longevity in cancer patients.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

A randomized controlled trial of the effects of group psychological therapy on survival in women with metastatic breast cancer

et al. 1998

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In order to test the effect of a psychological intervention on survival from cancer, 66 women with metastatic breast cancer, all receiving standard medical care, were randomly assigned into two groups; one group (n=30) attended the psychological intervention, consisting of 35 weekly, 2 h sessions of supportive plus cognitive behavioral therapy; the control group (n=36) received only a home study cognitive behavioral package. No significant difference was found in survival post‐randomization between the groups as assessed by a log rank test 5 years after the commencement of the study. As expected, several prognostic factors were significant predictors of survival: metastatic site, hormonal receptor status, and chemotherapy prior to randomization. While many personal and demographic variables did not influence survival, there was a significant effect of self‐reported exercise (possibly due to better health). A small subgroup of intervention subjects who attended outside support groups also survived significantly longer than those who did not. The strengths and limitations of the present study are discussed, and the results contrasted with those of a well known study by Spiegel et al. (Spiegel, D., Bloom, J.R., Kraemer, H.C. and Gottheil, E. (1989) Lancet ii, 888–891). We propose that a different experimental design (correlative) may be needed to show any effect of self‐help behaviors and psychological attributes in a small minority of patients. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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“…Although there is an occasional optimistic review of the studies in this area (e.g., Cunningham, 1985;Temoshok & Heller, 1984), the majority of authors contend that the studies are less convincing than they appear at first blush (Fox, 1978(Fox, , 1983Wellisch & Yager, 1981). It is not our intention here to document the multiple methodological problems that exist in this field of research and that need to be addressed if studies are to demonstrate clear results.…”

Section: Instrumentationmentioning

confidence: 96%