in a similar philosophical discussion with my sister's oncologist, he kept stressing that in his experience recurrence is more likely if the person is under a lot of emotional and physical stress, and that response to treatment is better when the person keeps a positive attitude. this seems common sense to me though i'm sure stress and anxiety are not the only factors involved. the pitfall of this view, of course, is that it places more burden on the persons with cancer so that somehow they could conceive themselves being responsible if they have a recurrence!

gita