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  3. It’s almost an article of faith: your best ally in the fight against cancer is a doggedly optimistic outlook. And it would seem

It’s almost an article of faith: your best ally in the fight against cancer is a doggedly optimistic outlook. And it would seem

admin2022-05-19  70
问题     It’s almost an article of faith: your best ally in the fight against cancer is a doggedly optimistic outlook. And it would seem that mounting evidence of the links between emotional and physical well-being would support that view. The only problem is that there is no good evidence to support that belief when it comes to cancer. Moreover, the "tyranny" of positive thinking often becomes just one more burden for the sick.
    It was research in the 1970s and 1980s that first popularized the idea that attitude might affect cancer outcomes. Such research led doctors to encourage patients to think happy thoughts and visualize their immune system blasting away cancer cells. But most of those studies have been dismissed as either flawed or inconclusive. A review of 37 studies that was published in the British Medical Journal in 2002 found that although a positive outlook does correlate with the perception of less pain by patients—a real benefit—there is "little consistent evidence that coping styles play an important part in survival from or recurrence of cancer. "
    Still, the optimism theory remains attractive. One reason is that Americans live in a culture that desires control. We want to believe that we can beat cancer by imposing our will on the disease. A better reason is that mental states like depression and chronic anxiety have been shown to have physical consequences that affect the progression of such illnesses as heart disease and diabetes. While a similar connection is biologically plausible for cancer, it is far from proven.
    Even researchers who believe that studies will ultimately establish links between stress and the progression of cancer, like Stanford’s Dr. David Spiegel, know the picture is complex. "It isn’t a matter of Fix it in your mind, and you fix it in your body,’ "he says, "but it would be strange if what goes on in our minds didn’t affect how our bodies deal with illness. "
    So where does that leave cancer patients? Doctors know that individuals will always bring their own disposition—sunny, sour or sarcastic—to bear on their illness and treatment. Pressuring them to be models of positive thinking is useless. Worse, it could cause them to hide their fears and reject support. But clinicians must remain alert for signs of depression, which can affect the outcome of any disease if it interferes with treatment. And many patients will also need—and welcome—help to improve poor coping skills. Spiegel says, "Having worked with people with life-threatening illnesses for 30 years, it’s clear that there are better and worse ways to deal with these things. "False optimism isn’t helpful, but neither is despair.
The author thinks that the optimism theory is derived from_________.
选项 A、Americans’ cultural pride in overcoming everything
B、the biological plausibility of willful control of cancer
C、the assumed connection of mood with some illnesses
D、the scientific researches in the 1970s and 1980s
答案A
解析 由第三段第一至第三句“Still，the optimism theory remains attractive．One reason is that Americans live in a culture that desires control．We want to believe that we can beat cancer by imposing our will on the disease．”可知，乐观主义理论保持吸引力的原因之一，是美国人生活在一种渴望控制的文化当中。我们想要相信自己能够通过将意志施加于疾病而打败癌症，故选A。
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