Successfully dealing with cancer. How much of it is physical effort? How much is mental?

Some time ago I was watching an interview talk show on the ESPN sports channel.

The interviewer was asking questions of a former National Football League player, now retired, on what it took to be a successful player in the NFL.

I don't recall the player's name, just remembering that he was a big, husky fellow, probably a lineman, or linebacker, something like that.

One of the questions that the interviewer put to him, and one that intrigued me, was "To succeed in the NFL, what percent of the effort a player makes is physical, that is, using his physical strength to dominate and wear down an opponent, and what percent is mental, that is, using mind strategies and playing techniques, including trickery and deception, to overcome an opponent?"

Well, upon hearing this question, I just took a wild guess in my mind and thought "Okay, 60 % physical, that is, using strength to outphysical an opponent, and 40 % mental, that is, outthinking him." (Of course, what would I know? I never played organized sports beyond Little League baseball, so I would really have no idea as to what the breakdown would actually be).

But then the former player answered the question, and he gave an answer that frankly surprised me.

He said that success in the NFL was 95% mental.

He said that physical strength wasn't even an issue, because if a player wasn't physically superior, he wouldn't be in the NFL to begin with.

No, he said, it was almost all mental. "Playing smart," as he put it, was not just "running into people hard," but knowing how and when to do it, at the right time, and doing so as effectively as possible. It was knowing how to trick an opponent into making mistakes, or faking moves to get the opponent going in the wrong direction, things like that.

He said that of two NFL players of roughly equal physical ability facing each other in a game, it was the one with the mental edge who would win almost every time.

After watching the interview, that got me to wondering. Is it perhaps true that the same approach applies, sort of, to the efforts we make in dealing with cancer?

That is, it can be argued that there is a physical side to dealing with cancer. Such as concentrating mainly on using one's physical bodily energy to strain against the discomfort of it, trying to overcome it, dominate it, physically, or martialing and spending one's physical strength in efforts to deal with the pain of treatment or side effects. Or even just being physically stoic in thinking one can handle it, as the pain continues.

"I can handle this," one might say to oneself, "I can tough it out."

But then there is, certainly, the mental side. Such as realizing that it's smart to get examinations as soon as possible when something is going on, and not putting it off, or taking medications as directed and not missing doses, or eating a helpful diet as directed, or exercising properly, or improving one's psychological outlook, and doing all the other things that we mentally know are of value, and realizing that it's the wise thing to do.

So, in a way, the approaches one uses against a football field opponent can arguably translate into similar ways, when it comes to dealing with cancer.

What an interesting image suddenly comes to mind! Being on the line of scrimmage, down in a three-point stance, lined up against cancer, also down in a three-point stance, each of us facing the other, and ready to hurl ourselves forward into the other, doing so when the ball is snapped, and then colliding, each trying to push the other back!

At that point it's strength against strength, physically. But it's also strength against footwork, balance and technique, mentally.

In such a matchup, I have to believe that footwork, balance and technique will win over strength alone, almost every time.

The takeaway? We beat cancer when we play smart, like the way that former NFL player described.

Or, to put it another way, as the old saying goes, one that may be very applicable when dealing with cancer: "Don't work hard, work smart."

So when it comes to cancer, "smarting it out" is going to be better than "gutting it out," every time.

Yeah: I think I kind of see where @Mumbo is coming from. This whole thing about "s/he put up a brave fight" or whatever just ups the pressure on the patient. Some like that, and you know, whatever floats your boat. I'm sure that approach works for you @81. But some don't work that way and the pressure to "fight" can be counterproductive. Victim-blaming. I've seen a good article on this: I'll try and dig it out. On the whole I think it should be banned.

The football analogy is completely wrong: those guys are largely self-selected (I realise there are some external pressures as well, but largely). We are dumped into mid-field with the ball in hand. It is the stuff of literal nightmares. We cope the ways we can: venting on here, banging spreadsheets, researching obsessively, finding a Dr to trust etc. Putting ourselves in our wife's hands, whatever.

And sometimes it's time to give up. Suffocating under 8 linemen or whatever. If we ask a late-stage PCa patient to fight, who are we expecting him to fight for? Obviously some might want to give up "too soon". Who makes that call? Really philosophical stuff.

Some of the 9/10 guys are politely complaining about 6/7s (not giving respect to the variability of 7, but that doesn't destroy their point) worrying about our drips and our erections. They have their own thread. Why don't you try posting this there, with signature, and see what they say about "smarting it out"?

ADD This, written by a terminal patient, is in my general direction https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/apr/25/having-cancer-not-fight-or-battle /ADD

Staying as strong as you can --- PHYSICALLY --- helps you find a way to pursue treatments, and live WITH a cancer diagnosis.

Staying as strong as you can --- MENTALLY & EMOTIONALLY --- helps you find a way to live ABOVE & BEYOND a cancer diagnosis.

My thoughts, my reflections --- simply worded, simply expressed ~~~

CYCLONE ---- # Iowa State University