Tom Kindlon
Senior Member
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Note: This isn't about M.E. I just found it a bit interesting. "
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Talking Headlines: with Professor Jim Coyne" (April 21)
http://researchtheheadlines.org/2015/04/21/talking-headlines-with-jim-coyne/
"Jim, can you define a moment when you became so actively interested in science reporting?
A. As Director of Behavioral Oncology, I became aware of inaccurate portrayals in the media of psychological factors altering the course and outcome of cancer. Unrealistic stories tell of people overcoming cancer by sheer mind power. These tall tales do a lot of damage. Not only do they give people false hope, they provide the message that persons with cancer have only themselves to blame if they did not obtain better outcomes by adopting the right attitude and showing more fight. But people with cancer who have a fighting spirit die at the same rate as those who don't.
My research also clearly showed that psychotherapy and support groups, whatever other benefits they might have, do not affect the course or outcome of cancer."
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(Tom: may apply in other countries also)"I don't know - and here I may be getting myself in trouble - but I think in the UK, there's more willingness to see a lack of personal wellness as a moral fault."