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hope and love...what is their role in fighting PC?

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Posted 9/20/2010 3:18 AM (GMT 0)

Picking of a theme from an earlier thread...

 

 

OK, so hope and love are not going to bring about any miraculous physical healing and totally eradicate and reverse the cancer that we’ve been dealt…right?

 

But can hope and love stimulate mind-body healing which, while not being a cure to cancer, does bring about a better life with cancer?

 

Can hope and love  help to lower stress hormones and levels of inflammation, and elevate the immunity system?

 

Can an elevated immunity system help to fight off cancer progression?

 

What do you think?  [And if any one comes back with a answer having anything to do with “cows” or “barns”, you will be further barred from this thread!  Re-read the first sentence in this posting, starting with "OK,..."]

Posted 9/20/2010 3:38 AM (GMT 0)
you are definitely cow-phobic at this point, there has to be a scientific name for that type of phobia.

the love and hope subject has a lot of basis behind it. my wife as a nurse, deals with both long term patients on physical therapy, and another wing of just the elderly. over the years, she has noticed and remarked, as a general rule, the patients that have loving spouses and/or other family members, tend to heal better and easier then those without family or participating family members. of course, those with terminal illnesses die regardless, but even when dealing with death bed scenes, the patients that are obviously well loved by family, etc, appear to handle their last days better.

david
Posted 9/20/2010 3:45 AM (GMT 0)
Boviphobia...

It's a real term...look it up...

Love and hope are crucial to everyone fighting illness. There is a third term that goes with these two that also appears in almost every wellness publication you find as well. I'll avoid it.

Most people use mental wellness to their advantage in fights against cancer. And science agrees with it as we have seen many studies and publications tell us. I believe that these qualities in humanity can help immensely for those willing to receive them.

Tony
Posted 9/20/2010 4:31 AM (GMT 0)
There are some that believe that yoga or meditation has helped them heal or at least slow the progression of cancer. Some have used imaging like pac man eating cancer cells. I think that anything that lowers stress enables the body's imune system to work better. As we are learning with Provenge and other imune drugs the body's imune system has a lot to do with fighting cancer cells. Dr Bahn is currently researching injecting imune cells right into the prostate. I think that imume technology could be the next major break through in our fight against PC and other cancers.
Posted 9/20/2010 10:59 AM (GMT 0)

TC-LasVegas said...
There is a third term that goes with these two that also appears in almost every wellness publication you find as well. I'll avoid it.

As did I...

But I'm hoping that Logoslidat will join in...

Posted 9/20/2010 1:23 PM (GMT 0)
In the "hope" catagory, I've always had what I called a good thing/bad thing.  aka -> The Power of Suggestion.

I can go to the doctors office with a killer burning sore throat and I start feeling better just sitting in the waiting room knowing I'm about to get looked after by a medical professional. I've had many a nurse want to pinch me a little to get my blood pressure up smhair

On the other hand - for example, I once had a dentist ask me if I got bad head aches from chewing gum. He said that since my back teeth are so out of allign, he thought I would get head aches from alot of chewing...So I stopped chewing - chewing gum. (have long since gone back to doing well as always with gum)

I guess my "hope" thing is more Mind of Matter as in thinking in a positive manner. Add in the fact that so much is out of my control, I don't sweat the stuff I can't change.

Posted 9/20/2010 1:33 PM (GMT 0)
Not being a scientist or researcher, I cannot give a definative answer to the question.  I have done some research on the web and have found some annecdotal type of opinions/studies, but it is really a hard thing to quantify.

I can only speak for myself that I really don't know how I would have been able to cope without  the two you mentioned, and the third as well.

Periodically we see some guys on here that appear to be very bitter, and their posts just drip with sarcasm, anger, and bitterness.  When some of these topics come up, or the R word is discussed, it becomes fairly obvious to me at least that the absence of these elements in their life has made coping very difficult for them. 

Hope is certainly necessary for me, to keep on plugging along this route.  Love for my family also is a big part of why I want to keep on going.  Their love for me has made it all bearable as well.

It is a curious set of words that can really get some guys excited.

Posted 9/20/2010 2:24 PM (GMT 0)
Love and hope is an essential part of life...

In life we are dealt many blows and that knock us off our feet.

We get back up on our feet one more time because of Hope. We stay standing because of Love.
Posted 9/20/2010 4:06 PM (GMT 0)
This is really my point. These concepts, IMO, preceded religeon and are universal concepts understood by all cultures.
granted they have been Hi-Jacked by religeon, but because of that, I don't think we, us'ens should be limited in our discussions about them, anywhere. Especially on a wellness forum. Especially by a culture, that thinks it knows whats best for us. I use the term culture in its broadest sense. Who, having any kind of disease, doesn't have faith in there medical team, hope for success and love for their family. Why should any of us be ashamed or afraid to use these words, write them down, etc. I do have a belief system, which helps me with doubts about everything I have posted here or elsewhere. That belief system is what should not be,IMO, allowed on sites like this and some may even argue against that. Not I.
Posted 9/20/2010 4:27 PM (GMT 0)
Hi logo,
First I am sorry for locking your thread yesterday. It is a new thing for moderators to be able to do so, but I did it and I do apologize for it.

I knew what you meant the first time and I agree whole heartedly. These are three words that no one should take offense to. We have to have faith in the system, faith in our doctors, and the lack thereof will result in anguish in our every step as there is no one perfect way to go down cancer road. Also the support and love from our family and friends supersedes anything that we can get out of a forum like this one... Hope is also a vital part for anyone coping with cancer. Everyone of us has varying levels of it.

Thank you for the post.

Peace to you always...

Tony
Posted 9/20/2010 5:06 PM (GMT 0)
Its cool Tony, don't think the thread hurt anyone, some liked it, some didn't. I am aware of the sensitivity to this subject, tried to thread the the needle, pun intended, just struggle with some of my brothers insistance on what I was trying to do, when I know exactly what I was trying to do. The post itself says it all, I can not control, how people spin what I say. The spin is the new truth in our culture, isn't it. BTW for those who read into things. Logoslidat, refers to Logos as in Computer for word, lidat is pidgeon english for like that. Thought it would make a cool email address, since email is computer driven and I have lived in Hawaii for years. For those who may have put another spin on it, Purgatory knows what I mean on this one, as Im sure many have read things into that one as well
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