This morning on the Early Show, one of the segments was titled "Michael Douglas Beats Throat Cancer." It sounds like he is doing very well, which is wonderful. (He did have stage 4 cancer.) They went on to discuss the fact that it will take some time (about 3 years) before they know if he has actually beaten the cancer and in the meantime he will probably visit the doctor about once a month.
My question is a comment made by Chris towards the end of the interview, (about 3:15 minutes into the interview if you care to watch) where he asked Dr. Phillips, "Throughout this whole process, he's talked about being a fighter and how this wasn't going to beat him. Does that type of positive energy and that positive outlook also help in recovery?"
Her answer: "A hundred percent, Chris. How you go into it is what you get out of it. He was deternined to beat this and from the look of it, he did." And she added a few more thoughts.
I remember a similar topic on the Her2 site, quite some time ago, regarding attitude and cancer survival. I believe I have read or maybe it was just someone's opinion, that if a cancer patient can be positive/hopeful, that this helps with the day to day enjoyment of life, but it probably doesn't actually determine whether or not the cancer returns. I remember some people commenting that if that were the case, it would put a tremendous burden on the patient, thinking that his/her attitude will make the difference.
What are your feelings on this? Do you agree with Dr. Phillips, in that "how you go into it is what you get out of it?"
Here's the segment:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?...in;contentBody