Charm - Thought you might appreciate some feedback on your post. My current role has been as a caretaker but during my working years I was a R.N. I was puzzled by the idea that somehow patients who died did not want to live as much as those who survived. I could see that that was a false premise.

I found it insightful that the author of the article mentions that when optimism comes naturally, it can be a great benefit. My husband did fit into this category. For others, it might not be the best coping mechanism. This leads to two issues that I have now unfortunately experienced personally.

Telling a distressed patient that "positive thinking" is the answer, just try harder, I know you can do it, etc. can lead him/her to put on a false show of courage, instead of feeling free to voice fears and concerns. This is often exhausting for the patient to maintain and he/she might choose to isolate instead.

I think it also ties in with the idea that sometimes the medical world tries to blame the patient when clear answers are lacking. After all, considering all types of cancers, I don't think that most patients have the assumed risk factors. You can do everything right and still get cancer. Remember when we blamed a mother's parenting style for autism, even after it was clear that this was not the case?