There is a commercial, regularly played on every network, in which a woman touts the genius of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America and it rubs me the wrong way. Now, if you google Cancer Treatment Centers of America Commercials, you will find that I'm not alone in my distaste. If you look them up in Wikipedia, you will find that at the very least, the FDA had issued them a warning letter in the 90's, and they are sparsely regulated. Massage, apparently, is not the most effective and intelligent form of cancer treatment.
The thing that really burns my hide, however, beyond instilling fear in current patients of cancer that maybe they've been barking up the wrong tree, is the misguided claim that 'real fighters can beat this'. My husband did survive Hodgkins twice, but it's not really because he was 'strong' and 'positive'. Yes, they've done some research that shows that a positive attitude can help during difficult treatments, but the idea that "fighters win!", that's just stupid. He had a great attitude that first year, made a web series during treatments, went on an exciting vacation in Costa Rica two months after treatment ended, and it still returned the next January. They caught it very early that second time, went right into treatment, and he remains in remission. Why? Because A. they caught it very early, and B. in his case, for his particular type of cancer, a stem cell transplant gives him very high odds. All in all, he was also very lucky.
I have known some extremely strong, beautiful and positive people who lost their battle to cancer. It stomps on their memory to even suggest that their "attitude" led to their loss. To manipulate the public to believe that GAP jeans are better than Express jeans is one thing. To manipulate the public to believe they're not good/smart/strong enough to survive a devastating disease unless they call a 1-800 number, and ditch their current medical team is horrific.
I am writing this to say to anyone who has lost a loved one due to cancer, or any unexpected disease, that it was not their fault. They were not "weak" or "less than". They were stronger than I hope I ever have to be, and we are inspired by their memory to lead stronger, better lives, in their honor.
Yes, the positive attitude idea is problematic because it, in effect, blames the victim. If you didn't beat cancer (or in my case, infertility, which falls under a lot of this same category of magical thinking), it's because you weren't thinking positively, didn't relax, etc...But no, actually, it's because it's a disease and thinking good thoughts, while all well and good, simply isn't going to cure any disease without the help of actual treatment. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThanks. I think a positive attitude is very helpful in terms of dealing with difficult situations. It's important in regards to maintaining strong relationships with your loved ones, and helps with day to day life. However, magical thinking (well put!) does not heal or fix anything, and I wish the rest of the the world would realize this.
ReplyDeleteNot to make light of the serious tone of your post, but I just saw this comic and thought of your post: http://xkcd.com/828/
ReplyDeleteThat is fabulous. I'm linking that into my next post - Thank you!
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