There are many people who won’t agree with me but over the years I’ve conducted experiential self-esteem building workshops with cancer patients and here’s what I’ve found. And let me say from the outset I am not recommending anyone reading this smokes or starts smoking.

Those individuals who were diagnosed as having cancer almost always had a low sense of self-worth (self-esteem) while those who were not diagnosed as having cancer almost always had a high sense of self-worth (self-esteem).

Many of the people with high self-esteem came from loving nurturing families and had strong immune systems that were constantly gobbling up the cancer cells in their bodies. Those with low self-esteem, many who came from dysfunctional home environments, often had impaired immune systems created by stress in their lives. The stress was a result of how they viewed their life’s issues.

Stress causes the body to give off hornones (such as cortisol) that impair the immune system, allowing the cancer cells to multiply at a rate faster than they can be devoured.

When people bottle-up their feelings and emotions, it’s a form of lying that demeans them and lowers their self-esteem. That’s why I’m a firm believer that cancer patients participate in support groups with other cancer patients where they can discuss their personal issues and feelings, and not withhold them. As they talk about their issues with their peers they’ll begin to feel better about themselves and the result will be an enhanced immune system. Guided imagery can also be effective in fighting cancer, whereby the patient visualizes his or her t-cells attacking their cancer cells.

A program of this type should only be conducted under the guidance of a family oncologist and should only to be considered as supplemental treatment.