[Mtngrl]

An update:

I tried to talk about cancer and trauma in my in-person support group yesterday. To my very great surprise, the facilitator interrupted me twice to deflect what I was saying. I didn't get the hint the first time, so she was more direct the second time, saying that while what I was saying was "interesting" it was "beside the point." Clearly, I was being silenced. She's the boss, and I'm sure she had her reasons, and I obeyed her.

In four years I've never seen her do that to anyone. I could have been talking about horse racing or a soup recipe or a fight with my sister or how one of my friends never calls anymore, and she would have let me drone on awhile, and then might have gently redirected the conversation or asked someone else for suggestions on whatever my issue was. I've never seen her just silence someone.

Maybe she thought I was saying childhood trauma "causes" cancer. I wasn't saying that. But it is an established scientific fact that trauma and stress suppress the immune system. It's also known that survivors of "complex developmental trauma" are more likely to engage in risky or unhealthy behaviors and also to suffer major illnesses. Epidemiologically, there is an empirically-validated link between harmful childhoods and early death. It's like the link between cancer and smoking. That was noticed and people finally said, "Hey, people shouldn't smoke; it's killing them!" Then they said, "Hey, second hand smoke is bad for nonsmokers; it's killing them." Smoking rates declined dramatically and so did smoking-related illnesses. But we know that trauma kills (and costs billions of dollars to mop up after), but it's almost completely absent from medical practice and public health policy.

I think it should be addressed upfront in standard cancer care. But since it isn't, and I have Stage IV cancer, I'm working on it on my own.

The things she prevented me from saying are, 1) A human mind, body, and emotions are an integrated system. Make any one aspect of the system function better and everything will improve and, 2) It is possible right now with tested interventions to heal from trauma. Van der Kolk's and Siegel's books both have wonderful stories of people finding peace, love, and happiness with appropriate therapy, even people who were very, very damaged. Since cancer treatment is traumatic in and of itself, we are all unquestionably experiencing trauma.

David Servan-Schreiber dealt with this to some extent in his book, Anti-Cancer; A New Way of Life. He talked about diet and exercise, but he also talked about getting a healthier mind and nervous system. He speculated that there might be a "cancer personality." There isn't, but there are behaviors that can increase inflammation and suppress immune response. Likewise, there are behavioral modifications that can repair the damage caused by stress and trauma.

I'm not selling anything. And I'm not oversimplifying or sprinkling fairy dust. But I think this is important.