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【medical-news】乐观帮助癌症病人提高生存质量,非
Optimism Helps Quality, Not Length, of Life for Cancer Patients
Posted by Shirley S. Wang
Think positively, have hope, and you’ll live longer, patients with cancer are often told. But researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have concluded from a study of patients with cancer of the head and neck that emotional well-being doesn’t prolong survival.
Optimistic thinking has been much talked about in people with serious illnesses. But research on the power of positive thinking in cancer patients has yielded mixed results. The findings of the latest study, which claims to be larger and more comprehensive than previous work, show no relationship between living longer and being more hopeful or having a positive mood. The researchers prospectively studied the outlooks of more than 1,000 head-and-neck cancer patients. Over the nine-year course of the study, 646 patients died, allowing an analysis of longevity and outlook.
While the findings were thought-provoking, the Health Blog wondered what motivated the researchers to conduct a study whose results were, quite frankly, rather depressing. And, what does this means for those of us who like to think we can exert some control over an unpredictable illness by trying to be upbeat?
The study’s lead author, psychology professor James C. Coyne, provided some answers for us on the limits of optimism and health. “The down side is that (patients) have the potential of being blamed” for not being positive enough. “Some people just go out cranky and they do it with a roar. More power to them,” he says. “Don’t blame yourself for not having a fighting spirit,” he says. “There are individual differences and, in the end, it probably doesn’t matter. It’s a matter of waking up and knowing you don’t know what’s going to happen, and that’s OK.”
But having good emotional well-being may improve other aspects of one’s life, even if it doesn’t impact longevity, told us. “I’m afraid that all this investment in the notion that emotional well-being promotes survival takes away from the notion it’s not the quantity of life that matters, it’s the quality.” October 22, 2007, 1:53 pm
Optimism Helps Quality, Not Length, of Life for Cancer Patients
2007年10月22日下午1点53分
乐观态度帮助提高肿瘤患者生存质量,而非延长生存时间
Think positively, have hope, and you’ll live longer, patients with cancer are often told. But researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have concluded from a study of patients with cancer of the head and neck that emotional well-being doesn’t prolong survival.
肿瘤患者常常被告知：积极地思考，抱有希望，将更加长命。来自宾夕法尼亚州（Pennsylvania）大学的研究人员通过对头颈部肿瘤患者的研究得出结论：良好的情绪并不能延长生命。
Optimistic thinking has been much talked about in people with serious illnesses. But research on the power of positive thinking in cancer patients has yielded mixed results. The findings of the latest study, which claims to be larger and more comprehensive than previous work, show no relationship between living longer and being more hopeful or having a positive mood. The researchers prospectively studied the outlooks of more than 1,000 head-and-neck cancer patients. Over the nine-year course of the study, 646 patients died, allowing an analysis of longevity and outlook.
严重疾病的患者乐观思考的作用常常被谈及。但在肿瘤患者中进行的关于积极思考作用的研究得出了各种结论。最近一项宣称比以往更大规模更广泛的研究发现延长生命与拥有希望或积极的情绪之间并无关联。研究者对逾千例头颈肿瘤患者进行了前瞻性研究。在长达9年多的研究中，646例患者死亡，并进行了生存率和前景性分析。
While the findings were thought-provoking, the Health Blog wondered what motivated the researchers to conduct a study whose results were, quite frankly, rather depressing. And, what does this means for those of us who like to think we can exert some control over an unpredictable illness by trying to be upbeat?
虽然这个发现令人深思，但是健康博客（Health Blog）不知道研究者进行这项研究的动机是什么，坦率地说，研究的结果让人压抑。而且，对于我们这些试图使不治之症的患者乐观而达到干预的目的，这项研究意味着什么？
The study’s lead author, psychology professor James C. Coyne, provided some answers for us on the limits of optimism and health. “The down side is that (patients) have the potential of being blamed” for not being positive enough. “Some people just go out cranky and they do it with a roar. More power to them,” he says. “Don’t blame yourself for not having a fighting spirit,” he says. “There are individual differences and, in the end, it probably doesn’t matter. It’s a matter of waking up and knowing you don’t know what’s going to happen, and that’s OK.”
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作者:admin@医学,生命科学 2011-05-25 05:11
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