Sorry Noel, but being negative can’t give you cancer

THere’s no doubt that the human mind is a powerful organ. But is it so powerful that it can actually give you cancer?

That is the view of Noel edmonds, who triggered anger this week when he suggested that cancer was caused by negative energy.

The 67-year-old TV presenter claimed that he had developed prostate cancer because of a stressful period in his life.

This sounds unbelievable, but he’s far from alone in thinking that negative energy can somehow cause malignancy.

ruby Wax, the comedian-turned-mental health campaigner, recently voiced similar opinions, saying: ‘every single disease goes from the fact you’re thinking about stress. I’m talking cancer, diabetes 2, heart disease, infertility, obesity, premature ageing. All this you can give yourself, just by your own thinking.’

This attitude is nothing new. Throughout the Forties and Fifties, it was accepted within the medical community that people with certain personality traits were more likely to get cancer.

Doctors would talk of ‘ type C personalities’ to describe people who were unemotional, unassertive and who repressed their feelings.

It was thought such buried negative emotions might end up re-directed into their body and make them prone to diseases.

of course, this was at a time when there was much less scientific knowledge of the causes of cancer. since then, huge advances in medical research has meant that psychologists and oncologists have rejected such theories.

Nevertheless, some cling to the view — partly, I presume, because it offers a neat explanation as to why certain people get cancer.

Indeed, it is far more reassuring to blame someone’s negative energy than accept the truth — life is unfair and sometimes people just get the short straw.

However, the fact is that blaming a cancer-sufferer for their own ‘negativity’ is very hateful. Not only is it cruel, it’s also untrue.

of course, for anyone recently diagnosed with cancer, the last thing you want to hear is some idiot suggesting it might not have happened if only you had smiled more often.

Worse, these kind of quack theories also make cancer- sufferers vulnerable to crooks and charlatans. Indeed, I’ve had several patients reject lifesaving chemotherapy in the misguided belief that positive thinking is all they needed to recover.

one woman travelled to south America to see a guru she had read about on the internet who promised to rid her of the negative energy that was ‘causing’ her sickness.

Her family begged her to stay in the UK and get proper treatment. But she spent all her savings to fly to see this conman. When she failed to get better, the quack shamefully blamed her for ‘not letting go of the negative feelings’. Tragically, she died shortly after returning home.

Yet what makes this such a delicate issue is that there is a kernel of truth to such views — but it has become distorted.

Being stressed isn’t going to give you cancer, but there’s no doubt that our psychological state can impact on how we experience being unwell.

We know from many studies done on people suffering from cancer and chronic pain that a positive mental outlook helps improve their condition. often, it helps relieve pain and they require less medication. But it’s important to put this in context. Numerous research studies have shown that having a brighter outlook on life doesn’t affect the eventual outcome. For example, optimism can’t stop your cancer becoming terminal.

one study conducted into this area — the largest ever — looked at 60,000 people over a minimum period of 30 years and it took into account risk factors such as smoking or obesity.

The conclusion, reported in 2010, was that there was absolutely no link between personality types and the development of cancer.

equally, there was also no link between personality and survival rates. so while having a hopeful approach to things can help us feel a bit better, it’s not going to affect the long-term medical prognosis.

Thus, it’s important that patients don’t feel under pressure to feel or behave in a certain way to avoid hampering their chances of recovery. Feelings of sadness, guilt and fear are all natural and normal responses to having a lifechanging illness such as cancer.

Cheery, smiley cancer patients such as the ebullient Noel edmonds may disagree, but no one should put pressure on others to feel or behave in a certain way.

Instead, they should be free to deal with their illness and get better in whatever way they feel best.