Lung Transplant

A client of mine celebrated her one year anniversary of being in Bootcamp.  She started last February only a few month after getting a lung transplant.  She was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease which affects the entire body, causing progressive disability.  The life expectancy of someone with cystic fibrosis is around 30 years old. Today she is in her 50s and has attended boot camp class for over a year, without missing a session.  She can run up to 4 miles without stopping and can do military style push ups.  Against all odds she continues to improve.

Due to her exceptional condition her health is closely monitored by her doctors.  They were initially cautious with the idea of her taking my bootcamp, but after a few weeks they liked the results.  She comes to class three days a week, regardless of the weather.  So when I hear people say, “Oh I can’t work out in the rain because…blah, blah, blah…I say if someone with cystic fibrosis with a lung transplant can start class in February, there are no excuses.”

N.Y. Times: Not Always A Beacon Of Good Information

Speaking of excuses, recently there was an article in the NY Times, “A Fighting Spirit Won’t Save Your Life.” Author, Richard P. Sloan says, “There is no evidence to back up the idea that an upbeat attitude can prevent any illness or help someone recover from one more readily.” He compares Congresswoman  Gabrielle Giffords to Elizabeth Edwards to demonstrate that a “fighting” spirit doesn’t save lives.

Just to give you some background, Giffords was shot in the head in an assasination attempt, but survived and her condition continues to improve.  Edwards was an attorney,  best-selling author, health care activist but possibly best known for being the wife of former US senator John Edwards. She recently lost her battle with breast cancer.  Both women were described as having a fighting spirit but there was one obvious difference.

While Elizabeth was fighting breast cancer, she was also dealing with her husband cheating on her. In the public eye, she put on the front of supportive wife but we can only imagine the mass of negative emotions and stress that she experienced behind closed doors. Studies repeatedly show that there is a strong correlation to stress and tumor growth. In fact a recent study published April 12, 2010 in The Journal of Clinical Investigation showed that stress hormones, such as adrenaline, can directly support tumor growth and spread.  Her psychological condition could have exacerbated the tumor and worsened the condition.

Relaxation Techniques

Is there really something to our emotions and our body’s ability to heal itself? You bet there is!  Science and Western medicine have only recently begun to look into this idea. Research is showing that the effects of positivity versus negativity do indeed have physiological effects on the body.  Professor Leslie Walker, from the University of Hull (UK), looked at eighty women diagnosed with breast cancer. All received exactly the same treatment and emotional support, but half also received training in relaxation techniques – they were taught to visualize their body’s defenses “overcoming” the cancer cells. Professor Walker said: “Our results show that relaxation and guided imagery can bring about measurable changes in the body’s own immunological defenses.”

Other research has also shown that people who have depression, in addition to another serious medical illness, tend to have more severe symptoms of both depression and the medical illness.  They also have more difficulty adapting to their medical condition, and more medical costs than those who do not have co–existing depression¹. Research has yielded increasing evidence that treating the depression can also help improve the outcome of treating the co–occurring illness².

So while you won’t find scientific research that shows irrefutably that a fighting spirit effects health and disease there have been hundreds of case studies that postive thinking makes a difference.  Some may argue that case studies are all exceptions, but science historically starts with exceptions and continues to find supporting results. We are at the dawn of a new ear. Up until recently science believed that human brains cannot regenerate brain cells.  This was a common belief held by the brightest minds at Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, and the list goes on.  Its now known that the brain is “plastic”, not static.  It grows and changes with each new experience throughout life.  The point is that while medicine and science have helped us tremendously, we need to remember that doctors and scientists actually spend more time getting things wrong than they do getting things right.

A Gut Feeling

Last night I spoke to my client about her fight with cystic fibrosis.  When she was in the hospital waiting for the transplant, her friends and family saying their final good byes she couldn’t help but feel bad for them.  She knew all along she wasn’t going to die, she knew because she hadn’t given up.  She wasn’t ready to go.  She might be the “case study” in this story but you can’t deny that against all odds she continues to fight, she is still alive.  That a girl… keep up the fight!

1. (Cassano P, Fava M. Depression and public health, an overview. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 2002; 53: 849-857)
2. Katon W, Ciechanowski P. Impact of major depression on chronic medical illness. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 2002; 53: 859-863)