Cancer Message Boards

Tuesday, February 18th, 2003 at 3:24 am

Natural Cancer Therapies: Can Having Good Friends Reduce The Chance Of Dying?

Another animal study has shown the importance of having company to prevent cancer occurring and in reducing of the likelihood of death from cancer. It is clear that for both animals and humans having good friends definitely improves the quality of life, and now, possibly, lack of friends might even be a matter of life or death. However researchers are still unsure of many of the mechanisms by which social isolation might contribute to the development of cancer.

We all know of wonderful people who have had lots of friends who socialized a good deal and who still died of cancer. I am not saying that not having friends is the one cause of cancer.

But we need to acknowledge the increasing evidence that having good friends can be a buffer to both prevent cancer occurring in the first place and if it does occur, to improve ones chances of a better outcome - either a complete recovery or a longer time till death. My own research findings also come to the same conclusions.

I have never had a doctor ask me about my relationships with friends, or even within my family, and yet there is clear evidence of their importance to health. As I work with doctors I've asked a few of them why this lack of interest in patients' sociability might be. Their response was that it is not their business to interfere, or even take an interest in, a patient's relationships. It is outside their sphere of management.

As you are unlikely to hear from your doctor that good relationships are beneficial to your health right down to the cellular and organ level then you need to take the message on board from elsewhere and take responsibility for improving your relationships as part of your overall health care.

So if you know you are short on friends don't take it badly. Friends die. They shift away. They or you can change. Or you might just look at your current friends and decide that they no longer contribute sufficient positive aspects to your life.

One of the patients in my big study had no friends at all when she first got cancer. Apart from a loving husband and two absent children she had no positive input from people into her life. She started to deal with her cancer by paying for human contact. She paid for a masseur, for time with a homeopath, joined a healing group and slowly made progress from there.

Another loner was a farmer who lived in the outback miles from anywhere. He gave up farming and moved into the city. His situation was different because he was naturally gregarious and made friends easily.

You don't need lots of friends, somewhere between five and nine seems to work well from a health perspective. Family can count in the friend mix, but you are looking for people who contribute positively to your well-being and you to theirs. You are looking for at least one person who makes you feel significant, one who makes you feel connected and loved, one who can be trusted to help you and gives you a sense of security and someone who gives a sense of fun, enjoyment and variety in life.

As my study showed sometimes you must adapt, even to purchase the support you need and this is a positive alternative if your natural circle of friends is missing a category of need. It makes sense to have a good group of friends. You may not be thinking in terms of your own natural cancer therapies but friendships are good and improve your quality of life. Take the time to consider what your friends add to your life and if necessary set out to increase the number of positive people around you.

About the Author

Dr Harriet Denz-Penhey is an internationally recognized health researcher who has done groundbreaking research into patient self care in serious illness. The web site http://www.cancerremedies.org discusses aspects of natural cancer treatment and remedies for good general health.

What is this called... has to do with medical?

A person looks up their symptoms online such as pregnancy, goes to message boards and other stuff all the time and worrying about stuff. Like lets say my stomach hurts... I look it up online and it says I have cancer... there is a long name for this, like a phobia...

Thanks for the help in advance.

Hypochondriac

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