Dr. Alia Crum

So we should take those, right?

But what I would add is we should also think about our mindsets.

So what are the mindsets we have about cancer, about what it means for our life?

What are our mindsets about the treatment and the care we're getting?

It turns out those mindsets matter too, and they can radically shape the whole experience that someone is having when they are going through cancer.

Yeah.

So we've been working on this question for nearly 10 years now.

I'm working with Lydia, Dr. Lydia Shapira, Dr. Jonathan Barak, David Spiegel, Sean Zeon, and others.

And, you know, what we've found is that, you know, the best mindset to be in when you have cancer, first, it's not just think positive.

It's not just believe you don't have cancer or

believe you'll be okay.

Those are actually acts of denial.

The best mindset to be in when you have cancer is the mindset that this is manageable.

Contrast that to the mindset of this is a catastrophe.

It's unmanageable, right?

Another mindset that we found is very useful for people going through cancer is the mindset that their bodies are capable of

Many people who are diagnosed with cancer feel like their bodies have let them down, that their bodies have turned on them or at best are just sort of not working right now.

And what we've found in a number of studies, including trials where we work to inspire people into different mindsets, is that moving to adopt the mindset that cancer is manageable, their bodies are capable,

is profoundly transformative in shaping their whole experience.

So it changes their quality of functioning in life.