Cancer patients accentuate the positive
By Bruce Bower
People undergoing treatment for cancer or other life-threatening diseases sometimes report an improved ability to cope with daily affairs, a greater sense of purpose in life, increased spirituality, closer ties to loved ones, or other gratifying changes.
A pilot study now suggests that such personal growth, at least in female breast cancer patients who completed a stint of group therapy, accompanies marked declines in the stress hormone cortisol. Intriguingly, no such stress-hormone drop occurred in the women who cited the lowest amount of emotional turmoil, say psychologist Dean G. Cruess of the University of Miami in Coral Gables and his colleagues.