The Cancer Blame Game.

• Author: Ehrenreich, Barbara
• Position: Flip Side - Essay

The perennial temptation to blame disease on sin or at least some grave moral failing just took another hit. A major new study shows that women on a virtuous low-fat diet with an extraordinary abundance of fruits and veggies were no less likely to die of breast cancer than women who grazed more freely. Media around the world have picked up on the finding, cautioning, prudishly, that you can't beat breast cancer with cheeseburgers and beer.

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Another "null result" in cancer studies--i.e., one showing that a suspected correlation isn't there--has received a lot less attention. In the May issue of Psychological Bulletin , James Coyne and his colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania reported that "there is no compelling evidence linking psychotherapy or support groups with survival among cancer patients." This flies in the face of the received wisdom that any sufficiently sunny-tempered person can beat cancer simply with a "positive attitude."

For example, an e-zine article entitled "Breast Cancer Prevention Tips" advises:

"A simple positive and optimistic attitude has been shown to reduce the risk of cancer. This will sound amazing to many people; however, it will suffice to explain that several medical studies have demonstrated the link between a positive attitude and an improved immune system. Laughter and humor has [sic] been shown to enhance the body's immunity and prevents against cancer and other diseases. You must have heard the slogan 'happy people don't fall sick.'"

So far no one appears to have read Coyne's study. On June 30, a month after its publication, all-purpose guru Deepak Chopra assured Sanjay Gupta on CNN that the mind can control the body: "You know, of course, the ... study where women who supported each other in a loving environment with breast cancer, the survival doubled." Gupta, last sighted seeking to smear Michael Moore's Sicko with his "fact-checking," simply nodded, although the study Chopra was referring to was discredited years before Coyne's research came out.

Even the theoretical linchpin of the supposed happy-mind-healthy-body connection--that a positive outlook strengthens the immune system--took a kick in the teeth two years ago when...