Magazine content is available exclusively for TIME subscribers.Medicine: Can Attitudes Affect Cancer?
In a 1976 New England Journal of Medicine article called "Anatomy of an Illness," Norman Cousins, then the erudite editor of the Saturday Review, described how he had cured himself of spinal arthritis by adopting a healthy mental attitude, laughing a lot and taking vitamin C. Other diseases, Cousins implied, might also succumb to positive thinking. The article struck a responsive chord. It was reprinted in other medical journals, supported by letters to Cousins from some 3,000 doctors, and eventually expanded by the author into a briskly selling 1979 book of the same name. Despite complaints from other doctors who studied...
Email, Password or Region is incorrect
A required form parameter was missing.
The System is currently down. Please try again in a few minutes.
Email Address is invalid
Password is blank
Most Popular »
- How Cash Keeps Poor People Poor
- E.T. Turns 30: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Our Favorite Extraterrestrial
- 15-Year-Old Creates Test for Pancreatic Cancer
- Nevada Ghosts: Rare Photos From an A-Bomb Test
- Euro Crisis: Why A Greek Exit Could Be Much Worse Than Expected
- Could a Fertility Gene Discovery Lead to New Male Contraception?
- 10 Dangerous Products You Might Have in Your Home
- Fourth Flesh-Eating-Bacteria Case Confirmed in Georgia, Possible Fifth
- Obama Stumbles? Why the President's Right to Talk About Bain
- Star Wars Turns 35: How TIME Covered the Film Phenomenon
- Researchers Probe the Potential Health Benefits of Palm Oil
- A Visit with Turkey's Controversial Religious Movement
- Feeding the Planet Without Destroying It
- Bubble on the Potomac
- Falcon's Liftoff: How a Private Firm Could Change Space Exploration
- The Fatal Flight of the Superjet 100: Why Did It Slam Into a Mountain?
- Learning That Works
- The Man Who Remade Motherhood
- Bibi's Choice
- Seoul: 10 Things to Do
More News from Our Partners
Top Stories on TIME.com
Quotes of the Day »
