10 Common Healing Factors Among Cancer Survivors Who Beat the Odds. If They Can Do It, So Can You!

Welcome to what those with a cancer remission have in common. If you are facing a recent cancer diagnosis, you know your life is about to change. This brings much uncertainty. You are likely feeling at some level anxiety, panic, overwhelm, helplessness, hopelessness, depression, sadness, fear, confusion, frustration, anger, loneliness, maybe even shame or guilt. You might feel absolutely devastated. Your whole world has been turned upside down. There is so much to think about. What treatment should I pursue? How well will it work and how awful will I feel? How will my family and friends take it? Will I be a burden? Will it spread? Will it come back? Can I fight this? You may be questioning “Why me?” You may be thinking about your body’s mortality. These are all normal thoughts, but they don’t have to be. I’ve put together the following content for you to greatly improve your chances of healing.

I personally have not had cancer, but it’s become my mission to help others after losing my Dad to pancreatic cancer in 2010. I intuitively knew there was more that could have been done for him, but I wasn’t yet educated on what. I tried to give him some natural help like Kombucha and vitamins; silly when I look back on it. Nice things, but not targeted and not enough.

What I am going to share with you here is extremely powerful, so please use it and use it wisely and with conviction. Let’s get started.

Spontaneous remission is defined as the disappearance, complete or incomplete, of a disease or cancer without medical treatment or treatment that is considered inadequate to produce the resulting disappearance of disease symptoms or tumors. There is evidence for spontaneous remission dating back verifiably to 1902 and still being reported and tracked with increasing numbers in today’s world. I first came across this research from a woman named Kelly A. Turner, PhD, in 2014. She had just published her first book Radical Remission, and it was here I learned about common factors among all those cancer patients who had a “radical remission,” defined as statistically unlikely cancer remission. Her passion and research of these miraculous recoveries are ongoing, and as recent as 2020 she published an updated book Radical Hope, with an added common factor. This is what I am going to share with you today. There are others who have studied spontaneous remission including Caryle Hirshberg, Brendan O’Regan and too many to be mentioned all here. This other research including The Remission Project supports all of Turner’s foundational, mental/emotional, and spiritual findings.

Many physicians warn against false hope. But what of false despair? What I am about to share with you isn’t false. It is documented and scientifically validated evidence. Sure, the statistics for this kind of thing to happen to anybody aren’t high, but what if that is because those people don’t know the common denominators in these recoveries, in exactly what you will soon know? Besides, you are not a statistic. You are a unique and dynamic being. You have the power to shape your destiny.

Before we get to these 10 Healing Factors, I want to give a little disclaimer. I am a medical professional and I do stand by these 10 Healing Factors. People say knowledge is power, but the real power lies in execution. Don’t just learn and memorize these. Use them. Integrate them. Immerse yourself in them daily. Identify with them, live them, breathe them, embody them, be them. Depending on where you are in your own personal life journey, you may be able to do this by yourself and with the support of your loved ones. Most of you will require or benefit from further guidance. Please seek a medical professional (particularly a naturopathic doctor, functional medicine practitioner or integrative specialist) for the physical components. For the others, many types of specialties could suffice; life coach, therapist, Energy Worker/Light Worker, healer, shaman, hypnotherapist, plant medicine facilitator, religious or spiritual leader, NLP practitioner, Psych-K practitioner, Psychologist, cancer support group, to name a few. You may require your own unique recipe but please find what works for you and don’t give up until it feels right. I am also an option, honored to be your naturopath (Naturopathic Doctorate) and Energy Worker.

10 Common Healing Factors Among Cancer Survivors Who Beat the Odds: these are in no particular order as there is no determined order of importance.

Foundational: The first three of these are considered foundational, but the radical remission survivor is doing all 10.

Healing Factor #1: Strong Reasons for Living:

These survivors focused on their “why”. They did not, however, focus on not wanting to die. They did not focus on a fear of death or illness, or an internal battle likened to the need to “fight cancer” or “fight death.” They focused on their strong and compelling “why”. They focused on moving towards something they love, not away from something they fear. Avoidance strategies run out of gas. There is related research that shows depressed cancer patients die significantly sooner[i]. Feeling depressed? Don’t worry! There is also research that shows treating depression in cancer patients helps them live twice as long[ii]! This shows the power of positive perspective.

What are your strong reasons for living? You can probably think of some now. Is it loved ones, travel goals, creative projects, or do you have more to learn? More to grow? More to do, more to be, more to give? There is no one right answer. If you can’t think of something immediately, take the time to breathe, meditate, sit with yourself, and let the information come to you. If nothing, create it now! Create a compelling future. Visualize your best life a year from now (maybe not the ultimate best life but the best one that can happen in one year). Energy flows where focus goes. Hocus focus! Focus on your compelling reasons, your compelling future. Be with the present moment but know a positive future awaits you. Focus on the desired outcome, not on what is missing or what is wrong. Focus on where you want to go, not on where you don’t want to go. There is a tendency to go where we focus, like a car spinning out of control that hits the one telephone pole with nothing else around because the driver was focused on where they did not want to go. Focus on where you do want to go from here.

Healing Factor #2: Empowerment:

This can mean many things, and empowerment always beneficial in my opinion, but in this research, empowerment is delineated as playing an active role in one’s health and treatment. This also includes those who held a passive role but transformed into having an active role. This involved cancer patients who did their share of research, due diligence, questioning and decision-making. As will be revealed later, listening to one’s intuition played a key role as well. These people felt in control of themselves. Although one cannot control external circumstances nor outcome, one can always control their reactions to it. This refers to exactly that. Cancer patients who became cancer survivors have in common that they took control of their bodies, minds, and spirits. They played an active role in the direction of their treatment, such as by seeking out other professionals to help guide them besides the assigned oncologist. The opposite of feeling empowered is feeling helpless. In one study, helpless cancer patients had a 60% greater chance of dying[iii]. In another study, a negative adjustment to cancer diagnosis showed an increased risk of recurrence and death at the five and ten-year mark[iv]. A negative adjustment means they scored high on things such as helplessness, hopelessness, anxiety, preoccupation, and worry. Note: most sought some outside help, but this research didn’t delineate those that got help and those that did their own self-work, so it is unknown if outside help was a necessary component to this specific healing factor.

If you are feeling like you might need some help in getting into an empowered state, it is ok! Many people are on this planet to serve and can help with just that. But know that the power lies within you, and all they are doing is uncovering what is already there. The path to empowerment in my opinion is not so much about “fixing you” or gaining strengths, it is mostly about letting go of that which no longer serves you. It begins with awareness as the first vital step.

Healing Factor #3: Social Support:     

We are social creatures after all. One point is to distinguish between giving and receiving social support. Many cancer patients were caretakers themselves but neglected to caretake oneself. The survivors were able to receive the love and support being offered to them. In a landmark study, social support of cancer patients was found to be more protective than diet, exercise, smoking or drinking status[v]. These social ties were independent of lifestyle choices and socioeconomic status. In related research, a meta-analysis of over 300,000 cancer patients revealed a 50% increased likelihood of survival amongst those with stronger social relationships, regardless of age, sex, or type of cancer[vi]. Research supports quality over quantity[vii]. Having fewer, deeper social connections is more impactful than having more, looser social ties.

Please be committed to sharing your cancer journey with your loved ones in an open and honest way and allow them to support you in your time of need. You are worthy of being taken care of. What if you don’t have a good social support system in your life? Luckily, this is not hard to seek out. Cancer support groups exist for every type of cancer in almost every area of the world. Living in our modern day also offers increased connectivity to others via the internet. If you don’t like your local support group, seek another one out and keep trying or try online. Even though they may be strangers, you are all having a similar shared experience which can be quite a powerful bond. There is evidence that cancer support groups can be as beneficial as family and friends. Sometimes, they are even necessary if family or friends are not giving you the support that you need.  

Physical:

Healing Factor #4: Diet Change:

What is important to note here is that there isn’t a specific type of diet related to radical remission. Nevertheless, there was a change from current diet and this change contained the following common threads: a decrease or elimination of meat, dairy, gluten and refined sugar, and an increase of vegetables and fruits to at least half of the plate size. American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) found that 30-40% of all cancers can be prevented by appropriate diet, physical activity, and a healthy body weight[viii]. Related research shows that it’s not just diet, but the state of the microbiome that plays a role in certain cancers as well[ix]. Particular gut bacteria can either promote or prevent cancer, so it’s important to consider the balance of gut flora as well. This can be tested by various lab companies with a fecal sample.

Diet can be an overwhelming topic to explore. Which diet is right? The Mediterranean diet? The ketogenic diet? A raw foods vegan diet? Then there’s protocols like Gerson and others. Delving into dietary options is beyond the scope of this guide. Please show discernment whenever researching something online and consider the source material. For further help with diet and nutrition, I recommend seeing an accredited naturopath such as myself, a dietician, a nutritionist, or a comparable professional.

Healing Factor #5: Herbs/Supplements:

Even more so with herbs and supplements, radical remission folk ran the gamut with a diverse array of these products, having only a few threads in common. These supplements functioned primarily to do a combination of the following mechanisms of action: detoxification, immune modulation, and aiding in digestion. Forms included capsules, tabs, powders, liquids, teas/infusions/decoctions, enemas, IVs, topicals, castor oil packs, and more. Routes of administration included oral, anal, vaginal, venous, subcutaneous, and skin. Again, the takeaway here is not which supplement but what function it is aiding in.

Supplements can be the most confusing modality to the cancer patient as there is an overload of information out there, including this or that miraculous secret. Often times, these are bad people trying to profit off of vulnerable populations. Sometimes, these are legitimate and downplayed or attempted to be covered up and dismissed by various agendas such as Big Pharma.

On top of that, oncologists may discourage their patients from using anything other than conventional medicine, for fear of interactions or simply that the patient may be wasting their money or time. What we need to remember is that the oncologist may very well have the best of intentions, but they are not trained or educated on anything other than conventional medicine. There are some integrative oncologists out there, and these may be the exceptions to the rule. For example, there has been misinformation from oncologists that taking antioxidants interferes with an oxidant therapy such as chemotherapy. This has been proven false[x].

My point here is just that effective supplement therapy and protocols are best left to the professionals. Please see your naturopathic doctor for guidance on which supplements to take as it is a very individualized art and science. The type of cancer (location, stage, grade), your other health conditions and diagnoses, lab results including genetic tests as well as standard yearly labs and more specialized tests, and much more are taken into account when your naturopath is deciding a supplement regimen for you.

There is also a placebo-type effect to keep in mind. Let’s call it the power of our beliefs. If you believe your supplements are doing a great deal for your health and well-being, they will have a greater effect on you than if you are reluctantly swallowing your capsules to check a box or make your partner happy. Let me be clear that a placebo-type effect does not mean there is no scientific value in the product. It is just that our mindset and beliefs can override that to an incredible degree. There have been numerous accounts of people actually dying when their doctor told them they had so many months to live, only to find out post-mortem that the patient’s imaging results were mixed up with another’s and they never had any cancer at all[xi]!

Healing Factor #6: Movement:

Radical remission survivors engaged in daily movement, even if their mobility was limited. For the purpose of this research, the word movement rather than exercise was used because people may have reported not exercising if they weren’t doing their usual or a standard idea of exercise (such as going to the gym), and ‘movement’ allowed a broader definition. Something as simple as walking can have a significant effect. Research has shown that just 3-5 hours of walking per week was associated with lower mortality in breast cancer patients[xii]. One study showed that 30 minutes of brisk walking per day had more effect in breast cancer patients than taking Tamoxifen (45% reduced recurrence rates[xiii]). Well-validated research also supports the protective effects of exercise, in that those who exercise regularly are less likely to get cancer[xiv]. Movement during conventional treatment is gaining traction as its results are validated by the conventional model. In Norway, people who are actively getting infused with chemo are placed on exercise bikes during the process. This helps to target the chemo more precisely to the cancer. In a very recent study, esophageal cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy while participating in a structured moderate intensity exercise program, experienced enhanced tumor regression, improved immunological response to chemo, and reversal of muscle loss.[xv]

Many health professionals can help create an exercise regimen that is effective and works for you. Try to have some fun with this one! If the gym seems to fill you with dread, consider picking up a previous physical hobby or learning a new one. Outdoor parks or the yard can be a great space for inspired movement. Perhaps a yoga or pilates studio would suit you. Hobbies such as dancing, martial arts, sports activities, swimming, bicycling, aerobics, tai chi, jumping on a trampoline, or even gardening and house chores can help you move more and be less sedentary.

Healing factor #7: Intuition:

Radical remission survivors heard an inner voice, had a strong inner knowing, or “gut feelings”, and listened to them.

This is one of my favorite topics, but I won’t get into all the scientific findings on intuition or the spiritual theories and applications of intuition.

There are a couple of points I would like to drive home though so that you can benefit from this knowledge in a practical way. One is what if you say you don’t have intuition? Some of what I will say here is my own beliefs although there is some evidence to back it up. I believe that everyone has inherent intuition. It is part of our evolutionary biology as well as a connection to our creator, whatever that may be for you. If atheist, you can stick with the science part as intuition has been linked to survival areas in the cerebellum and 100 million neurons in the intestines[xvi]. Some people naturally are more in tune with their intuition, but it is a skill like anything else and can be improved or enhanced. It may be completely dormant and latent in you in which case we need to wake it up. A thorough guide on this is beyond the scope of this article, but there are now more than ever, many courses you can find online that help enhance your intuition. Here is just one recommendation: https://www.monroeinstitute.org/products/developing-intuition. Note that I have no affiliation with this organization and there are no conflicts of interest here. The Monroe Institute is run by Jon Campbell, a former NASA nuclear physicist who now dedicates his life to scientific understanding of consciousness and has published research papers on quantum mechanics experiments, among others.

Many people also have a hard time distinguishing between the voice that is their intuition, and the voice that is their mind. A couple of quick tips to know the difference. The mind will often give counsel that stems from fear. If you feel any negative feelings especially fear, it is probably not your intuition. Even if your intuition is warning you and steering you away from a potentially bad situation, it won’t resonate as fear. Of course, it is possible to feel fear from the mind at the same time as feeling a more peaceful intuitive knowing. Be able to recognize this if it occurs. Meditators have an advantage in this arena. They know how to quiet the mind so that the subtle whispers of the heart (intuition) are clearer. The heart gives more of a feeling, not so much language, deduction, logic, and reasoning. This is why when people trust their intuition, it is a giant leap of faith because it often times makes little sense and leads to the unknown. The mind wants more certainty, but we have to find that certainty internally rather than externally. The mind wants to keep us in our comfort zone, intuition often does not. It is never too late to begin meditating and you don’t need to be a meditation master to benefit from this practice! Meditation advice and guidance is something I offer patients and clients in my practice.

Emotional/Mental:

Healing Factor #8: Release Suppressed Emotions:

Radical remission survivors felt their illness as a blockage, caused by all sorts of negative emotions and fears. Their goal then, was emotional processing. The ways they went about this are about as varied as the supplements they chose to take. Some decided it was time to go to therapy, some punched and screamed into a pillow every now and again to release in a way they never had before. Some did expressive art therapy, dancing, journaling, while others found techniques such as EFT (emotional freedom technique, also known as tapping) and EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing). There is no right or wrong answer here. The right choice is the one that works for you, that you feel intuitively guided to do and believe in.

One important common link, however, is this: Radical remission survivors allowed their emotions to pass through them like a waterfall, like a rainy storm passing. This is the terminology many of them used. The idea is, rather than let these emotions stay stuck or become stuck again, they allowed themselves to experience those emotions for a time, like a waterfall dip or storm, but allowed it to pass through them. This seems to be in total alignment with the book “Letting Go” by psychiatrist David Hawkins, M.D., PhD. He states that emotions are detrimental to our health when they are suppressed, repressed, expressed, or escaped from. Instead, his book illustrates the power of the pathway to surrender. Surrender being an empowering state, not a state of giving up or giving in. Surrender meaning allowing ourselves to let go of that which doesn’t serve us. He quotes “letting go involves being aware of a feeling, letting it come up, staying with it, and letting it run its course without wanting to make it different or do anything about it. It means simply to let the feeling be there and to focus on letting out the energy behind it…let go of wanting to resist the feeling. It is resistance that keeps the feeling going. When you give up resisting or trying to modify the feeling, it will shift to the next feeling and be accompanied by a lighter sensation. A feeling that is not resisted will disappear as the energy behind it dissipates.”  There is power in simplicity, but this is not necessarily an easy task. The book goes into further detail on how to do this, but as explained above, many different things can help guide us in this direction. For example, in my practice I do energy clearings where I clear up layers of trapped emotions, heart blocks, and other blockages using a technique called The Emotion Code or The Body Code. This is not necessarily an easy fix, as we all have many layers and only so much can be done in a single session. I have also heard of great results from a program called Psych-K. Again, it is important to do your own research and feel into what you intuitively believe would work for you.

There are studies to support this overall finding as well. A six-week stress management course led to an increase in NK (natural killer) cell activity in cancer patients as compared to controls[xvii]. Our NK cells are an offensive response to cancer. Eight of 15 trials showed that psychotherapy increased cancer patients’ survival time[xviii]. The other seven showed no adverse effects. This may boil down to the degree of which the patient was engaged and committed to their personal work. Nowadays there are many studies emerging that show the therapeutic efficacy of psychedelic assisted psychotherapy, thereby speeding up the process for many[xix].

Healing Factor #9: Increase Positive Emotions:

Think you need to have positive emotions constantly? No! Many of these radical remission survivors lost their joy, but they made it a priority to exercise this “muscle” for at least 5 minutes daily and find it again. As with other healing factors mentioned, a variety of methods can work. These people accepted that it is not possible to be positive all of the time, and in fact, may be necessary to feel some of the more negative emotions. This of course, is different than getting stuck there. What is important, is not to deny or repress these feelings, but allow them to wash through you as explained previously. It is also not beneficial to identify with and embody the negative emotions, carry them around or outwardly act on them. But as well as releasing suppressed emotions, the radical remission survivor worked on increasing positive emotions. The ways are limited only to imagination and what works for the individual. In related research, laughter increases the number of immune cells in the cancer patient undergoing chemo[xx], and daily frequency of laughter is associated with lower prevalence of cardiovascular diseases[xxi].

Healing Factor #10: Spiritual Practice:

Allow me to clarify. If you are thinking, uh-oh, I am not spiritual, do not worry, as this applies to atheists as well. On the flip side, having spiritual or religious beliefs is not the same as what this healing factor implies, not to say it isn’t beneficial. These radical remission survivors experienced a spiritual connection as a felt experience, not a belief. Any and all types of spiritualities, religions, agnostics, and as mentioned previously, even atheism is not excluded. The key here is this was felt in their bodies. For atheists, it was during doing something they loved and felt connected to. For others, it was felt during prayer or meditation. Physically, it was described as a detached feeling, or rushes of energy. Emotionally, it was described as peace, love, and quiet. In related research, meditators were able to turn off disease-promoting genes after eight weeks of daily practice as compared to controls[xxii]. What’s remarkable and reassuring about this, is that these were not experienced meditators, but brand new at the practice. Mindfulness meditation which involves being the non-judgmental observer of thoughts, increased neural connections associated with decreases in IL-6 (interleukin-6), which is a marker of systemic inflammation[xxiii].

If you are a religious or spiritual person, it may be time to pray and/or meditate and focus on generating a feeling in your body. The feeling is more important than the visualizing of it, but visualization is a powerful vehicle for the feeling. Focus on peace, love, or imbue yourself with the quiet empty space. Feel rushes of positive emotions, or detachment from fear. Feel the emotions pass through you like a waterfall. Focus on connecting to your intuition. Focus on your strong reasons for living, moving toward love and away from fear. Focus on the power you have to influence your reality, evidenced by this large group of people above. You can do this with practice.

Conclusion:

The first three of these are considered foundational, but the radical remission survivor is doing all ten. But what science does not know, is if all these ten are vital or if five are the important ones and the rest coincidences. We just know all these ten were present together in these people. So, take what resonates, do all if possible, and have faith in your healing journey. Also, remember there is no specific order of significance for these ten. Most people are adherent to these ten for two years, and then loosen up on diet and supplements but try to remain vigilant about joy, reasons for living, spiritual practices, etc.

What’s next from Kelly A. Turner’s research? She is in the process of conducting a pilot study with researchers from Harvard regarding the effects of applying these principles to a treatment group versus a control group in a clinical trial. This is currently in the data analysis phase.

My question is, what’s next for you? If you have found this information to be insightful or inspiring in any way, know that these holistic approaches and more make up the backbone of my health and wellness practice, New Moon Cancer Care. I would be honored to be your Naturopathic Practitioner and Energy Worker, weaving modalities that encompass the physical, mental/emotional, energetic, and perhaps spiritual components of health. New Moon Cancer Care bridges the gap between evidence-based Naturopathic Medicine and personal development with health plans tailored to your unique medical needs and personal preferences.

Bonus:

Recommended Reading: You Are The Placebo by Dr. Joe Dispenza

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[ii] Giese-Davis, J. et al. (2011) “Decrease in depression symptoms is associated with longer survival in patients with metastatic breast cancer: A secondary analysis,” Journal of Clinical Oncology, 29(4), pp. 413–420. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2010.28.4455.

[iii] Watson, M. et al. (2005) “Influence of psychological response on breast cancer survival: 10-year follow-up of a population-based cohort,” European Journal of Cancer, 41(12), pp. 1710–1714. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2005.01.012.

[iv] Watson, M., Homewood, J. and Haviland, J. (2012) “Coping response and survival in breast cancer patients: A new analysis,” Stress and Health, 28(5), pp. 376–380. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2459.

[v] “Social networks, host resistance, and mortality: A Nine-year follow-up study of Alameda County residents” (2017) American Journal of Epidemiology, 185(11), pp. 1070–1088. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwx103.

[vi] Holt-lunstad, J. and Smith, T. (2010) “Social relationships and mortality risk: A meta-analytic review,” SciVee [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4016/19911.01.

[vii] Berkman, L.F. et al. (2000) “From social integration to health: Durkheim in the New Millennium,” Social Science & Medicine, 51(6), pp. 843–857. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/s0277-9536(00)00065-4. 

[viii] Wiseman, M. (2008) “The Second World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research Expert Report. food, nutrition, physical activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective,” Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 67(3), pp. 253–256. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/s002966510800712x.

[ix] Louis, P., Hold, G.L. and Flint, H.J. (2014) “The gut microbiota, bacterial metabolites and colorectal cancer,” Nature Reviews Microbiology, 12(10), pp. 661–672. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro3344.

[x] Simone, C.B., Simone, N.L. and Simone, V. (2007) “Antioxidants and other nutrients do not interfere with chemotherapy or radiation therapy and can increase kill and increase survival, part 1,” Altern Ther Health Med, 13(1), pp. 22–28.

[xi] Dispenza, J. (2014) You are the placebo. United States: Encephalon.

[xii] Holmes, M.D. (2005) “Physical activity and survival after breast cancer diagnosis,” JAMA, 293(20), p. 2479. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.293.20.2479.

[xiii] “American College of Sports Medicine Roundtable on Exercise Guidelines for Cancer Survivors: Corrigendum” (2011) Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 43(1), p. 195. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0b013e318202a00a.

[xiv] Brown, J.C. et al. (2012) “Cancer, physical activity, and exercise,” Compr Physiol, 4(2), pp. 2775–2809. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/cphy.c120005.

[xv] Zylstra, J. et al. (2022) “Exercise prehabilitation during neoadjuvant chemotherapy may enhance tumour regression in oesophageal cancer: results from a prospective non-randomised trial,” British Journal of Sports Medicine, 56(7), pp. 402–409. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2021-104243.

[xvi] “Deciding advantageously before knowing the advantageous strategy” (2002) Foundations in Social Neuroscience [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/3077.003.0044.

[xvii] Fawzy, F.I. et al. (1993) “Malignant melanoma. Effects of an early structured psychiatric intervention, coping, and affective state on recurrence and survival 6 years later,” Arch Gen Psychiatry, pp. 681–689. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1993.01820210015002.

[xviii] Spiegel, D. (2013) “Minding the body: Psychotherapy and cancer survival,” British Journal of Health Psychology, 19(3), pp. 465–485. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12061.

[xix] Luoma, J.B. (2020) “A meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials of psychedelic-assisted therapy.” Available at: https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/sgujx.

[xx] Yoshinori Sakai et al. (2013) “A trial of improvement of immunity in cancer patients by laughter therapy,” Jpn Hosp, pp. 53–59.

[xxi] Hayashi, K. et al. (2016) “Laughter is the best medicine? A cross-sectional study of cardiovascular disease among older Japanese adults,” Journal of Epidemiology, 26(10), pp. 546–552. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2188/jea.je20150196.

[xxii] Davidson, R.J. et al. (2003) “Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation,” Psychosomatic Medicine, 65(4), pp. 564–570. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1097/01.psy.0000077505.67574.e3.

[xxiii] Creswell, J.D. et al. (2016) “Alterations in resting-state functional connectivity link mindfulness meditation with reduced interleukin-6: A randomized controlled trial,” Biological Psychiatry, 80(1), pp. 53–61. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2016.01.008.