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                     The Mind and Cancer

                     Book Information

                     Response to Laughlin's Program

                     Sample from Mind and Cancer

                      

                     Book Information:

                     "Brilliant! A benchmark in our recognition of causal
factors that MUST be
                     included in cancer treatment and prevention. No
oncologist, medical professional
                     or cancer patient can afford not to include this in
their treatment ..."

                                        -- Edward Gilbert, MD, Eisenhower
Medical Center, Radiation Oncologist

                     Here for the first time is the overwhelming scientific
evidence that proves that the emotions -- not
                     the mind -- play a significant role in creating
biochemical changes that may predispose one to
                     develop a cancer, and that the emotions have an even
more powerful role in successfully treating or
                     preventing cancer.
                       Having worked with over 1,000 cancer patients over
the years, in groups run by Bernie Siegel,
                     MD, Carol Simonton, MD, Deepak Chopra, MD, just to
name a few, Tom Laughlin discovered
                     that there were Six Personality Traits that are common
in 80% of cancer patients. The ramifications
                     of this discovery are enormous:

                         1.Once you learn what the six personality traits
are, you can change the negative emotions
                            created by these six traits and thereby help
reactivate your immune system and effectively
                            fight your disease.
                         2.Knowing about these six personality traits, one
can usefully predict who is predisposed to
                            developing a cancer, and therefore prevent one
from developing a cancer by effectively
                            understanding and then altering the six factors
in one's life.

                     You will learn that it is the emotions -- especially
the hidden emotions existing in the unknown part
                     of the patient's psyche -- that determine the baseline
condition of the immune system, and how
                     understanding and changing these emotions is KEY to
fighting one's disease, or preventing one
                     from getting the disease.
                       This book goes way beyond cancer. Cancer is just the
final calling from the unconscious to get
                     the patient's attention that there's a lot more to
life than one is living. This book gives an
                     extraordinarily beautiful and profound insight into
the psychological and spiritual meaning of
                     cancer -- and how once cancer is understood, it can be
a blessing in disguise when one makes the
                     necessary changes the cancer is calling the patient to
make.
                       Laughlin also explains in depth why some of the
traditional therapies practiced in mainstream
                     hospitals, as well as such alternate therapies by such
famous authors as Bernie Siegel, MD and
                     Deepak Chopra, MD, can be very destructive, even
dangerous.

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                     Response to Laughlin's Innovative Program:

                     What is so exciting about Tom Laughlin's Program for
Personal Growth is its wide
                     universal appeal. From the hard nosed traditional
medical and psychological professionals, to
                     leaders in alternate growth programs, to lay people
from every walk of life, Mr. Laughlin's
                     program is universally acclaimed as a major
psychological breakthrough.

                      

                            The most powerful and practical therapeutic
program for growth I
                            have ever seen.

                                                                 Dr. Paul
Sanberg, Chief of Neurosciences,
                                                      Department of
Neurosurgery, University of South Florida

                            I am full of admiration for Laughlin's
tremendous achievement and
                            marvelous advice. Laughlin's surprising
easiness to express and
                            formulate all the central ideas of Jung will
help many people in
                            their desperate struggle to find their meaning
and see a purpose in
                            their life ... it is of enormous importance to
realize how much
                            one's own health depends upon the possibility
to relate back to
                            one's ego personality, to the inner center of
the soul.

                                                                   Franz
Jung, the eldest son of C. G. Jung

                            The most impressive thing about Laughlin's
psychological
                            breakthrough is its common sense. When you
learn of Laughlin's
                            new model and therapy program, it is so simple
to follow, it is so
                            practical and concrete, so self-evident, that
you wonder why no
                            one has discovered it before. It is "just so,"
and I look forward to
                            getting our therapists trained in this
wonderful new method.

                                                             Dr. Eugene
Poshkoff, Chief of Psychiatry at the
                                        St. Petersberg Psychiatric and
Children's Hospital, St. Petersburg, Russia;
                                                             Psychiatrist
at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden

                                           (Dr. Poshkoff was personally
appointed by Boris Yeltsin to develop
                                                     a new medical facility
in St. Petersberg to treat the physical
                                          and emotional disorders of the
victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.)

                            So powerfully did Laughlin's book depict my
exact problem, that I
                            could not read more than two pages without
being overcome with
                            emotion. Most important of all, it gave me
practical solutions that I
                            never knew were possible. It gave me a whole
new life.

                 
Joan Schwartz, Cancer Patient

                            The most powerful and effective therapy for
both immediate and
                            long range change I have ever encountered.

                                               Dr. Terry Oleson, Assistant
Professor Clinical Psychology, UCLA

                            Though Laughlin's program is easier for lay
people to understand
                            and apply than any "pop" or academia
psychotherapy currently
                            available, Laughlin's program is anything but
"pop" psychology.
                            Laughlin's program puts therapy on a whole new
level, and
                            changes forever the definition of therapy and
spiritual growth.

                                               Dr. Paula Geiselman,
Professor of Psychology, Tulane University

                            The method of Tom Laughlin is the Jungian
method, the only
                            correct one that has to be used in all
beginning analysis.

                 
Dr. Marie Louise von Franz,
                                                                 co-author
of Jung's last three major works,
                                            and recognized as Jung's
closest associate and most brilliant colleague

                            Quite simply, Laughlin's book was one of the
most important, life
                            transforming books I have ever read.

                 
Sue Adler, Attorney

                            From people who just want to improve their
lives and relationships
                            to such severe disorders as anorexia, child and
spouse abuse,
                            addictions, and sexual dysfunction, there is no
program available
                            that comes remotely close to being as effective
and immediately
                            successful as Tom Laughlin's exciting new
method. Best of all, he
                            lays it out in a clear, concise step-by-step
program that produces
                            immediate concrete results.

                                                                   Dr.
Claudia Joyce, Clinical Psychologist

                            Brilliant! A benchmark in our recognition of
causal factors that
                            must be included in treating and preventing
emotional and physical
                            disease. No medical professional can afford to
be ignorant of this
                            program ...

                                           Edward Gilbert, MD, Radiation
Oncologist, Eisenhower Medical Center

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                     A Sample from Mind and Cancer:

                     The six psychological factors peculiar to the cancer
patient might be more accurately defined as
                     characteristics or traits, for they describe a very
special set of feelings and attitudes that constitute
                     the distinctive personality of the cancer patient.
                      It is important to point out at the outset that these
six characteristics are very seldom present in the
                     surface personality of the patient.
                      Only in a small handful of cancer patients are these
psychological factors immediately observable.
                     Almost always, these characteristics operate beneath
the surface personality, though with a
                     minimum of training one can easily learn to recognize
them.
                      On the surface, cancer patients present themselves
with a wide variety of different personalities
                     and behavioral traits, which is what made discovering
these six characteristics so difficult.Some
                     cancer patients are unusually upbeat. It is not
uncommon for people to remark about these kinds of
                     upbeat cancer patients, "She's so strong. She always
has a smile for everybody." "Even though
                     he's got the cancer, he's the one encouraging us,
giving everybody a pat on the back." "She's an
                     inspiration to the whole town. If anybody can lick the
big C, she will." (From what we've learned,
                     whenever we hear these kind of comments our blood runs
cold.)
                      At first glance, neither this state of mind nor any
of the underlying six psychological factors that
                     I'm about to describe will seem to fit this type of
person in any way.
                      Yet, because of the use of our new diagnostic
technique which enabled us to probe deeper and see
                     more clearly what was taking place in the unconscious
mind of the cancer patient than was
                     previously possible, we discovered that every single
one of these remarkably "upbeat" patients that
                     we investigated - without exception - had all six of
these unique characteristics prominently present
                     in their unconscious personality. (I will describe
this new technique later in the book.)
                      Ironically, the more inspiring and upbeat these
patients were in their conscious attitude, the more
                     these six characteristics showed up in the unconscious
part of the personality. Twenty to twenty
                     five percent of all cancer patients fall into this
"upbeat" category.
                      Another type of patient that at first glance does not
appear to have the six characteristics I'm about
                     to describe is the overaggressive, Type A, cancer
patient. Again, the appearance of a super strong,
                     dominating and demanding person in their conscious
persona proved deceptive, for upon
                     investigation, these six factors were almost always
present in the unconscious personality of these
                     controlling, often hostile, patients.
                      In other words, it is impossible to tell by looking
at a patient from the outside, or by judging a
                     patient on the basis of that patient's conscious
personality alone, whether or not these six factors
                     are present.
                      However with the use of the marvelous insights
provided by this new technique, we discovered
                     the six factors that I'm about to describe to be
always present somewhere in the life and personality
                     of well over eight out of ten cancer patients, the
overwhelming majority of the cancer patients we
                     studied and observed.

                     The Areas in Which These Factors Occur

                     These characteristics, or psychological factors, were
created by events that either happened, or are
                     still happening, in one or more of three areas in a
cancer patient's life:

                            on the job, whether it be with the job itself,
or with patient's relationship with his or her
                            boss, superiors, peers, clients, or customers;
                            in the parent-child relationship, even though
the "child" may be 50 years old;
                            in the marriage.

                     Incidentally, there are very few parent-child
relationships - and virtually no marriage on earth - that
                     does not have at least the third, fourth, and usually
fifth factors I'm about to describe involved in
                     their relationship.

                     However, it takes the presence of at least five, and
usually all six of these factors to create the
                     conditions that predispose one to develop a cancer.

                      

                     THE FIRST FACTOR:

                     Avoidance Beharior in Childhood

                     The first factor is a background factor, something
that took place during the patient's childhood
                     and therefore functions as a deep, underlying dynamic
to the conditions existing in the patient's
                     current life.
                      The literature is flooded with studies that show
cancer patients often come from a home in which
                     there was conflict during their childhood.
                      Family conflict can range from the psychological,
even physically abusive conflict that is openly
                     acted out, to the kind of unspoken conflict that is
created when a parent is so strict and silently
                     tyrannical that no one in the house would even dare to
think of crossing that parent's wishes.
                      However, many homes are filled with these kinds of
conflict, and the children of those homes do
                     not necessarily develop cancer.
                      The difference in the home where the cancer patient
grows up, is that the conflict, in whatever
                     form it appears, results in the cancer patient being
so terrified as a child that the patient never dared
                     to express his or her needs.
                      The cancer patient never was able to express any
physical need, financial need, need for
                     independence, need to freely make choices, or the need
to have his or her ideas respected.
                      Most important of all, cancer patients grew up not
daring to ever express their emotional needs.
                     Living in a state of quiet terror, however they were
unaware of it, they grew up being "givers" and
                     "accommodators," for that was the way they could best
avoid triggering off the explosive complex
                     of the dominant personality in the house.

                            They grew up afraid - afraid to express their
emotions and their needs. Afraid to
                            make demands for fear of ridicule or rejection.
Afraid to cause conflict.

                            Therefore, throughout their childhood, cancer
patients grew up in a state of fear
                            and learned to avoid expressing their needs,
especially their emotional needs, in
                            order to avoid conflict.

                            The most important emotion that cancer patients
cannot express because of this
                            childhood conditioning is the emotion of anger.

                     The First Factor is: Cancer patients avoid expressing
their needs, especially their emotional
                     needs, in order to avoid conflict.

                      

                     THE SECOND FACTOR:

                     The Feeling of Being a Victim, Isolated, Trapped, and
Controlled

                     When cancer patients finally became old enough to
escape from the constrictive atmosphere of their
                     childhood home, they eagerly set out to find the
freedom that they imagined would come with a
                     fully liberated adulthood.
                       By liberated I mean a lifestyle in which they could
freely express their emotional needs, and
                     develop their ideas, talents and abilities to the
fullest, without restriction, ridicule, or fear of
                     rejection.
                       Instead, by a strange twist of fate, cancer patients
find themselves back in a situation similar to
                     their childhood. A situation where in some way they
end up still being afraid to express their needs
                     in order to avoid conflict.
                       Again, they find themselves avoiding conflict and
keeping the peace by being an accommodator
                     and a giver, instead of, at least part of the time,
being able to be a taker or one who makes
                     demands. They can't ever express their needs equally.
This is extremely important.
                       This turning into an accommodator instead of being
free to express one's needs can take place in
                     the job.
                       It can be taking place because the cancer patient,
even if the cancer patient is an adult with his or
                     her own family, is still under the emotional or
financial domination of a parent.
                       Or it can be taking place in the marriage.
                       Wherever it is taking place, cancer patients find
themselves right back where they started. They
                     are caught in a situation where they are as
constricted and unable to express their needs in this new
                     situation, as they were unable to express their needs
in childhood, and as a result they once again
                     become accomodators in order to avoid conflict.
                       Instead of feeling free, liberated and in control of
their life, cancer patients once again feel
                     controlled and dominated.
                       Instead of having the feeling of freedom that should
have come with adulthood and financial
                     independence, cancer patients once again find
themselves trapped. Once again, they have the
                     feeling of being a victim.
                       The worst part is that they do not feel there is
anything they can do about it. They feel isolated
                     and alone. In a word, they feel helpless.
                       The key words that describe this Second Factor that
is effecting the cancer patient's personality,
                     whether or not a patient is aware of it, is that deep
down inside the cancer patient feels controlled,
                     trapped, victimized, isolated and helpless to do
anything about one's current situation.
                       These feelings add up to the ultimate key word,
which is hopeless.
                       Because deep down cancer patients feel that nothing
can be done to change their feelings of being
                     controlled, alone, trapped, and victimized, and
because they feel helpless to do anything about it,
                     they resign themselves to their fate and lose all
hope.
                       Hopelessness - the loss of all hope - is the key
word in the Second Factor. Please remember it.
                       When all the other feelings of being controlled,
trapped, victimized, isolated and helpless boil
                     down to a feeling of hopelessness, then the deadly
precondition that can lead to a cancer begins to
                     set in.

                     The Second Factor is : The cancer patient is living in
a situation where he or she feels
                     controlled, victimized, trapped, isolated and
helpless, to the point of losing all hope of changing
                     that situation.

                      

                     THE THIRD FACTOR:

                     Dominant-Subordnat / Controller-Controllee /
Suffocation

                     Under normal circumstances an individual is not only
allowed to develop all of the parts or
                     components of their personality, but they are
encouraged to do so.
                       By components, I mean all of their ideas, abilities,
talents, attitudes, feelings and emotions.
                       For some reason or other, something in the life of
the cancer patient is repressing a major
                     component of the cancer patient's personality.
Something in the patient's life is preventing an
                     important new part of the personality from emerging
and becoming part of the patient's conscious
                     life.
                       Some new ability, talent, attitude, emotion,
intellectual capacity or psychological insight that is
                     trying to become a part of the patient's functioning
personality, is being prevented from doing so.
                       In some unknown way this newly emerging component of
the personality is being suffocated.
                       The suffocation of this newly emerging talent or
ability is the single most important
                     psychological cause of cancer.
                       In the therapy, though it is important to find out
how the suffocation is taking place in the
                     patient's life and to remove the thing or person that
is doing the suffocating, far and away the most
                     important thing in the successful treatment of the
cancer patient is to find out what talent, ability,
                     emotional need, etc. is being suffocated, and help the
cancer patient to develop that newly
                     emerging talent or ability.
                       In order to remove the elements that are causing
this suffocation, it is necessary to first identify
                     in each patient exactly what it is that is causing the
suffocation of the patient's growth.
                       This suffocation can come about from any number of
factors in a patient's life.
                       The suffocation can be caused by the patient
himself.
                       The suffocation can occur because the patient,
preoccupied with a one-sided pursuit of certain
                     goals, is unaware that there are any new talents or
abilities that want to be actualized in his daily
                     life. Completely unaware that these newly emerging
abilities exist, the patient does not do anything
                     to help develop them and thereby expand his
personality.
                       However, illness, even a life threatening illness,
can contain within it something of great value.
                       Look at what happens when we get sick. Suddenly we
are forced to introvert. Lying in bed we
                     have time to introspect, to re-evaluate things, and
take a look at our life from a different
                     perspective.
                       Take the workaholic who prides himself on working
seven days a week for three years without
                     taking a vacation. Suddenly he gets a heart attack.
Isolated in intensive care he is cut off from all
                     outside distractions, no visitors, no phones, no
memos, no television. Lying alone after coming so
                     close to death he can't help but wonder that if he had
died today, would the life he leads have been
                     worth it? Would he rather have spent more time with
his wife and his children?
                       This forced introversion, especially when it comes
from a life-threatening illness, makes us
                     realize that there are other things in our life that
we want to do, other skills or talents lying dormant
                     in our personality that we would like to develop.
                       Yet because we are so caught up in a one-sided rat
race that emphasizes the development of only
                     one part of our personality to the exclusion of the
rest of our personality and gifts, we don't take
                     the time to do what in our hearts we really want to
do, or what nature, in her wisdom, knows we
                     should do if we are to become a well rounded, complete
human being.
                       However, there are three outside areas where the
suffocation of the newly emerging aspect of the
                     cancer patient's personality is repressed and
suffocated.

                     Three Areas Where This Kind of Suffocation Takes Place

                     1) The Job
                     A primary area where this suffocation can take place
is on the job.
                       Cancer patients often find themselves in a job or a
profession that is wrong for them.
                       Sometimes they find themselves in a job or
profession, which while exciting at first, has recently
                     become ill suited and suffocating. Sometimes it is a
job or a profession that has been suffocating
                     from the beginning, but they entered that profession
or job to please someone else, often a
                     suffocating parent. For any number of reasons, a
cancer patient can end up feeling trapped in a job
                     with no possibility of changing jobs or escaping.
                       Another way that a job can also create a suffocating
environment is in the cancer patient's
                     relationship with his boss, superiors, peers, clients,
or customers.
                       A third group of job related cancer patients are
those women who, on the conscious level, are
                     absolutely certain the most important thing they want
to be in life is a wife and mother, but
                     unconsciously, a secret part of them desperately wants
to go out and join the workforce ...
                     something they would never dare admit to themselves or
to their spouses. So they end up being
                     suffocated by playing a role that by itself is not
enough to develop all of their hidden potential.
                       Just as often it is the opposite.
                       A woman who is a professional, perhaps even a famous
actress or celebrity, secretly wants to
                     quit to become a wife and mother, but for any number
of reasons - financial, pressure from the
                     family or people on the job who need her, family
members who are totally dependent upon her, or
                     the need to live up to the new cultural ideal of
superwoman - she continues in her profession
                     thereby suffocating the newly emerging part of her
that wants to be a wife and mother.
                       Incidentally, cancer among this type of professional
woman is becoming as common a
                     phenomenon as women who want to join the workforce but
are prevented from doing so by a
                     controlling husband or family.
                       Another way the job can create this suffocating
condition that can lead to a cancer is the man who
                     has become an international giant in a given industry,
a legend, but who no longer really wants to
                     be a legend or run this giant operation.
                       Secretly, a part of this "indispensable" man (or
woman) desperately wants to walk away from it
                     all, be free of all of this overwhelming
responsibility, have his anonymity and privacy restored,
                     and perhaps do something totally the opposite, like
becoming a painter or a writer. With so many
                     thousands of employees, stockholders and others
dependent upon him, he can't possibly quit and
                     do what his soul is strongly urging him to do.
                       Two other primary areas in which this unknowing
suffocation of a newly emerging part of the
                     cancer patient's personality can take place is in the
parent-child relationship and in the marriage.

                     2) The Parent-Child Relationship
                     I am speaking here only of "children" that have
reached late adolescence or maturity, including
                     adults who though they are in their forties, fifties
and sixties, are still locked in a financially or
                     emotionally dependent parent-child relationship that
is preventing further personality growth in the
                     cancer patient, though usually neither party is fully
aware of it. (I have no experience with children
                     with cancer and I suspect that this new component
plays very little role in childhood cancers.)
                       Right off, it is very important to state that there
is no family that escapes the problem of the
                     inevitable little power struggles that go on between
spouses and parents and their children.
                       This painful conflict becomes most intense when the
child begins to reach maturity and wants to
                     go in directions that are contrary to the dreams and
lifelong goals the parent has always held for the
                     child.
                       Please, understand that there has never been a
parent-child relationship, or a marriage, or any
                     other close relationship between two people, whether
they be boss-employee, lovers,
                     brothers-sisters, or friends, in which one person was
not dominant, and the other subordinate.
                       It is a psychological fact that in every human
relationship, to some extent or the other, one
                     controls and the other is controlled, as we will show
in detail in Chapter 5.

                     3) The Marriage
                     No marriage escapes this phenomenon of one being
dominant and the other being subordinate, of
                     one controlling and the other being controlled.
                       Perhaps the ratio of controller to controllee in the
relationship is fifty-one to forty-nine percent,
                     or sixty to forty percent. In others it can go as high
as eighty to twenty percent, or even ninety to
                     ten percent ... but the point is that in every human
relationship, and every marriage, one is
                     dominant, and the other is subordinate.
                       You can tell which of your parents was the dominant
controlling partner in the marriage by
                     asking yourself whose complex did you have to tip-toe
around when you came home at night?
                       Yet, if you tried to approach your controlling
parent and suggest that he or she was the
                     dominating, perhaps even suffocating partner, you
would have been met with a painful, even
                     angry denial, which is why this factor is the most
difficult and sensitive one for the cancer patient
                     to deal with.
                       There are few things in life more threatening and
painful to a boss, an employee, a parent, a
                     child, or a spouse than to suggest that one may be a
dominating, perhaps even controlling partner
                     in a relationship. There is nothing more liable to
provoke hurt and denial, even anger, than the
                     suggestion that one might possibly be the dominating
partner in the relationship.
                       I know first hand how painful it is to have someone
suggest that you are the
                     dominating-controlling partner in a relationship.
                       In my case, it was suggested that my powerful take
charge personality was not only controlling
                     my family and employees, but was actually suffocating
them.
                       I was completely unconscious of the fact that I was
in any way a dominator and controller.
                     However, after I got over the pain and anger and saw
that indeed I was the dominating,
                     controlling, and suffocating partner, I decided to do
something to change that suffocating
                     relationship. It was in trying to change myself and
our relationship that I discovered there was no
                     more precious gift I could ever give my wife or my
children than to recognize this need within me
                     to control and to try to free them from it.
                       Equally important, it freed me as well, making my
relationships with my wife, my children and
                     my employees a thousand times better ... more open,
more loving, and more fun than I had ever
                     dreamed possible.
                       Like most controllers, it was because I loved them
so much and wanted only what I perceived as
                     best for them that I, without knowing it, had become a
suffocating controller.
                       The key point for my family was that the reason I
wanted so badly to change was because I
                     loved each of them so much. Once they saw I loved them
so much I was willing to give up my
                     need to control them, they were then free to develop
all of their talents and abilities without fear of
                     my interference, and more important, could freely
express their emotions to me in a way that was
                     not otherwise possible.
                       Every boss, parent, or spouse who is the dominating
controlling partner in the relationship has
                     the same opportunity that I had to show their love for
the other by learning to give up control, and
                     to experience the incredible love and joy that comes
when the relationship changes from a
                     dominating controlling one to the magnificent
experience that can only exist between two free and
                     equal human beings who respect and love each other.
                       There is nothing more important for cancer patients
and their loved ones to discover than where
                     in their life they are being controlled and some part
of their personality suffocated, whether that be
                     from a job, a boss, an employee, a peer, a parent, a
child, a brother, a sister, or a spouse.
                       When we discuss this domination-suffocation factor
in depth, I will show you by the use of
                     actual case histories, how to discover where in your
life you may be having something suffocated,
                     and whether or not you are the dominant or subordinate
partner in some relationship.

                     The Third Factor is: In some area of the patient's
life, whether the patient is aware of it or not,
                     they are controlled to the point that some of their
emotional needs or some newly emerging part of
                     their personality is being suffocated, is being kept
from developing spontaneously and freely.

                      

                     THE FOURTH FACTOR:

                     The Subliminal Ego

                     The reason the cancer patient is the subordinate
partner in the dominant-subordinate relationship is
                     because however strong the patient's personality may
appear on the surface, underneath the patient
                     does not have a strong, fully developed ego.
                       Instead, the patient has what I refer to as the
subliminal ego.
                       The cancer patient's ego is not yet strong enough to
be able to assert itself against a dominating
                     spouse, parent or boss.
                       As a result, a person with a subliminal ego is
essentially an accommodator, unable to demand
                     full equality with a dominating personality or a
suffocator.
                       Nor does a cancer patient have available to his ego
and conscious personality the assertiveness
                     and aggression necessary to become independent of the
suffocating "other" in the relationship.
                       It was my mentor, Dr. Marie Louise von Franz, who
first described this kind of ego as a
                     subliminal ego.
                       One of the key characteristics of a person with a
subliminal ego is that such a person delivers
                     over to the dominant partner the power and authority
to make all of the major decisions in the
                     relationship.
                       An easy way to discover who in your relationship is
the subliminal ego and who is the decision
                     maker is the "television test."
                       If there is only one television set in your family
room or in your bedroom, which one of you
                     holds the clicker?
                       Which one makes the decision as to what you both
will watch, and which one sits passively by
                     accepting that decision in order to avoid having a
conflict?
                       Another way to tell who is the subliminal ego is to
look at who has the authority to make all of
                     the major decisions in the relationship, such as:

                            who will work in the family and who won't;
                            what religion the children will be brought up
in;
                            will the children go to private or public
school, will they go to college, etc.;
                            where the family will live, and whether or not
they will own a home or rent;
                            what kind of vacations they will take and
where;
                            who controls the money. (I say "control"
because often the dominant partner does not
                            want to bother with the boring chore of keeping
the books and dumps that on the partner
                            with the subliminal ego, but at the same time
the dominant partner keeps total control over
                            how the money will be spent.)
                            ... plus many more.

                     A variation on the normal type of subliminal ego
personality is where a person can be a driving
                     Type A dominant personality in one area of their life,
but regress back to becoming a subliminal
                     ego type personality in another area.
                       For example, a man may be a dominating giant in
industry, medicine, or politics, easily able to
                     assert himself against other titans and make decisions
that can effect thousands of employees, but
                     the moment he enters his house, he reverts back to
being emotionally dependent upon his wife. At
                     home he delivers over to his wife all of the major
decisions regarding the emotional needs of
                     himself and his children. Consciously such a man is
extremely powerful, but unconsciously he is
                     emotionally dependent upon his wife, or in some cases
still dependent upon his mother.

                     The Fourth Factor is: In one or more important areas
of the cancer patient's life, either
                     consciously or unconsciously, the patient is a
subliminal ego delivering over to someone else the
                     power to act as the decision making authority in those
areas of the patient's life.

                     (As a result, cancer patients are especially liable to
turn over to their doctors total decision making
                     authority. They are likely to become infantilely
dependent on their oncologist, and accept blindly
                     any treatment suggested.)

                      

                     THE FIFTH FACTOR:

                     Total Dependency

                     Without this fifth factor none of the other factors
would be taking place.
                       The fifth factor is that the subordinate partner is
totally dependent and cannot live without the
                     suffocator, whether the suffocator be the job, the
parent, or the spouse.
                       However much the cancer patient may resent being
dominated, controlled, or victimized by the
                     suffocator, however angry one may get at oneself for
constantly being afraid to express one's
                     needs, one's ideas, or one's emotions, the suffocating
spouse, parent, or job is still the cancer
                     patient's lifeline.
                       Cancer patients do not believe they can survive
without that connection to the suffocator, which
                     is the reason why people who are suffocated don't just
up and walk out of the suffocating
                     relationship or job.
                       One of the most baffling mysteries in psychology
today, whether it involves a battered wife, an
                     abused child, or an incest victim, is the inability of
the victim to leave a relationship that has
                     become clearly destructive.
                       There is not a month that goes by that a host on one
of the popular TV talk shows, such as
                     Oprah, Donahue, Geraldo, or Jessie, does not ask a
battered wife or an incest victim after hearing
                     their horror story, "Why didn't you just get up and
walk out the door?"
                       In our new therapy, we discovered two psychological
entities, called the Anima and Animus,
                     that explained to our patients, perhaps for the first
time why such a total dependency between
                     lovers and married couples existed.
                       Once you understand the role these entities play in
creating human relationships, especially the
                     marriage and love relationships, you will have a new
insight into love, marriage and dependency
                     relationships.
                       A variation on how this utterly dependent need for
the suffocator, this inability to live without the
                     other that carries the lifeline, can evolve itself
into a predisposition for cancer can be seen in the
                     bereavement and depression that can follow the loss of
a loved one, especially when the widow or
                     widower is left alone late in life. It is interesting
to note how often one spouse develops a cancer
                     soon after the death of the loved one who carried the
emotional lifeline.
                       A second variation on this dependency factor can be
seen in the devastating feeling of
                     abandonment and hopelessness that sometimes occurs
where one party, deeply in love with
                     another as the lifeline, suddenly has the other walk
out without warning, often to make a new life
                     with someone younger or more attractive. Years later,
the one who was rejected is still in love with
                     the one who walked out, and is unable to find someone
else to fill the void.
                       It can also occur when someone is suddenly fired
from a job that one has been totally dependent
                     upon, especially when that job was the center of one's
life. It can also occur when someone
                     remains unemployed after years of desperately
searching, or loses a job late in life, making the
                     possibility of getting another job very unlikely.
                       In these variations, though the suffocator is not
physically present, the lifeline dependency need
                     still exists but can't be fulfilled. It has been
ripped away. The end result is the creation of a feeling
                     of hopelessness.
                       Which brings us back to the key word that
predisposes one to develop a cancer - hopeless.

                     The Fifth Factor is: The suffocatee is utterly
dependent upon and cannot live without the
                     spouse, parent or job that is carrying their lifeline,
even if that spouse, parent or job is a suffocator.

                      

                     THE SIXTH FACTOR:

                     The Conflict is Unknown

                     If the fifth factor is the most important one to
explain why a suffocatee doesn't just walk out of a
                     suffocating relationship and build a new life, the
sixth factor may be the most important one of all
                     in predisposing an individual to develop a cancer.
                       The reason that this sixth factor may be the most
important is that without it, the previous five
                     factors could be changed and cease to exist.
                       Without the sixth factor being treated successfully,
the other five factors will remain in control of
                     the patient's life and will continue to determine the
outcome of the disease.
                       The sixth factor is that the entire conflict going
on in the cancer patient is unknown.
                       Cancer patients are completely unaware, or at best
only partially aware, of the fact that all of the
                     feelings and conflicts created by the previous five
factors are actually taking place in some
                     unknown part of their personality, for the entire
conflict, with all of its emotional repercussions, is
                     taking place in the unconscious of the cancer patient
and is not taking place in the conscious part of
                     the personality.
                       Remember, cancer patients avoid open conflict at all
costs by avoiding expressing their needs,
                     especially their emotional needs and feelings of being
taken for granted and suffocated. When the
                     conflict cannot take place openly on the conscious
level of the relationship, it drops down into the
                     unconscious part of the personality where it festers
and turns into a deadly poison.
                       In their conscious personality, cancer patients are
either partially or completely unaware of the
                     full extent to which they feel suffocated, trapped,
isolated, angry, afraid to be themselves, or
                     unable to freely express their opinions or emotional
needs.
                       Cancer patients are unaware, partially or
completely, that they are suffocated, that they have a
                     subliminal ego, or that in some way they are still
infantilely dependent upon their partner to make
                     important decisions regarding either their inner or
outer world.
                       If the full range of the pain and resentment cancer
patients feel because of this unrecognized
                     conflict was out in the open, if it was consciously
realized so that cancer patients could openly fight
                     for their needs with their partner as equals, or if
they as suffocatees were able to freely express
                     their ideas and emotions without fear of reprisal, I
do not believe such a person would develop a
                     cancer.
                       Such patients might get sick, might develop an ulcer
or a heart attack, but they will not develop a
                     cancer.
                       It is precisely because these six factors are
unknown to the cancer patient that the cancer patient
                     develops a deadly feeling of malaise and defeat that
eventually wears down and fundamentally
                     changes the biochemistry of the patient's brain and
central nervous system which can predispose
                     that patient to develop a cancer (see Chapter 13).
                       It is because the patient is unaware of all of these
negative, hostile, and hopeless feelings, that
                     these conflicts are then forced to be played out in
the unconscious of the patient, the unknown part
                     of the patient's personality, a part of the
personality of which the patient is not yet aware. Since the
                     body is part of this vast unknown part of ourselves
called the unconscious, these conflicts end up
                     invading the body as this terrifying physical disease
of cancer.
                       The sixth factor is that either one or more of the
previous five psychological factors are
                     unknown, either partially or completely. They exist
unrecognized in the unconscious of a cancer
                     patient. Unless a cancer patient has read this
material, they are unaware that all six of these
                     psychological factors exist, and as a result, the
conflict is forced to be played out unrecognized in
                     the unconscious part of the cancer patient's
personality.
                       These six factors end up constituting a specific
"personality," that exists unknown in the
                     unconscious of a cancer patient. This unknown
personality, or psychological component, is
                     usually not recognized - or only partially recognized
- by cancer patients in their conscious
                     personality, in the persona they present to the world,
though sooner or later various components of
                     this personality will "rise up" and become visible in
the form of a feeling of discouragement,
                     anxiety, fear, a defeated attitude, or even just plain
terror.
                       Loved ones and friends, noticing this general
malaise, will usually describe the patient as being
                     "depressed."

                     The Sixth Factor is: The conflict and mental attitude
created by the previous five psychological
                     factors is unknown to the cancer patient, and the
conflict is being played out in the patient's
                     unconscious without the patient being fully aware of
the suffering being caused by these six
                     factors.

                                      WHAT TO CALL THIS NEWLY IDENTIFIED
                                            PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITION
                                                  OR STATE OF MIND
                                            THAT CAN LEAD TO A CANCER

                     This general feeling of malaise and defeat is always
present underneath the surface of the cancer
                     patient, however much the patient may be unaware of
it, and on occasion at first deny it.
                       Even when cancer patients put on an upbeat sunshine
front, there always existed in the
                     unconscious these feelings of being trapped, helpless,
and hopelessly suffocated.
                       These feelings led us to the discovery of this
previously unrecognized psychological state that we
                     now believe is as responsible for developing the
biological and biochemical changes that
                     predispose an individual to develop a cancer as a
carcinogen, genetics, a virus, or radiation can
                     predispose an individual to develop a cancer (with the
exception of most skin cancers).
                       In fact, because we found this cancer causing
psychological state present in well over eighty
                     percent (80%) of the cancer patients observed, more so
than any of the other causes of cancer such
                     as a genetic predisposition, a carcinogen, a virus, or
radiation, we believe that it may be the most
                     important ingredient involved in predisposing an
individual to develop many of the cancers.
                       Even more convincing was the fact that even when
there was a known carcinogen, genetic
                     predisposition, etc. involved in an individual cancer
patient, we almost always found this
                     psychological state to be present as well. We did not
find the opposite to be true, for in over 50%
                     of the cases where this psychological component was
present, there was no evidence of the
                     presence of a carcinogen, genetic predisposition,
virus or radiation.
                       Thus, while this psychological component could be
the only cancer causing agent present, all by
                     itself, when the cancer causing agent was a
carcinogen, genetic, virus or radiation, there almost
                     always was this psychological component as well. It
was this psychological component that
                     created the predisposition that triggered off the
carcinogen, genetic predisposition, etc., as we will
                     show later when we reveal why not every forty year,
two pack a day smoker develops cancer. The
                     smokers that did develop cancer also had these six
factors present in their psychology.

                               COULD THERE EXIST A PREVIOUSLY UNRECOGNIZED
                                      FORM OF "UNCONSCIOUS DEPRESSION?"

                     The question now became for us, what to name this new
cancer causing psychological state of
                     mind or component that is composed of these six
factors which together create these deadly
                     feelings of defeat and hopelessness in the
unconscious?
                       Finding a name was especially difficult because, as
we have already seen, however helpless and
                     depressed cancer patients may be underneath, in their
conscious personality this unconscious
                     "depression" is usually not visible. Cancer patients
do not appear to be depressed by any normal
                     use of the term "depression."
                       This deadly malaise in the unconscious of the cancer
patient created by the feelings of being
                     controlled, suffocated, and victimized, does not fit
any of the standard definitions of depression
                     and would not be discovered by any of the standard
diagnostic techniques used in psychiatry today
                     to diagnose a depression, for this unique depression
exists in the unconscious and is not visible to
                     an outsider or identifiable by the current diagnostic
techniques for depression.
                       At first this presented us with a serious problem,
for the psychiatric literature is filled with
                     studies that conclude that depression does not play a
meaningful role in predicting who will get
                     cancer ... as well as studies that show there is a
connection between depression and cancer.
                       In 1981, Dr. Richard Shekelle authored a study of
2,020 men employed by the Western Electric
                     Company in Chicago showing that depression might
promote the development and spread of
                     cancer1. Shekelle's study was immediately followed by
a study authored by George Kaplan of the
                     California Department of Health Services,
contradicting Shekelle's results, asserting that
                     depression played no role in cancer2.
                       Though both of these studies were "tracking" studies
studying a number of cancer patients over a
                     period of years and therefore no where near the high
quality scientifically controlled Stanford-UC
                     Berkeley study, their results were too meaningful to
ignore.
                       In the meantime, another study that was also flawed
but too meaningful to ignore was conducted
                     at the Institute of Psychiatry of the University of
London where Hans J. Eysenck, in collaboration
                     with Ronald Grossarth-Maticek in Heidelberg, Germany
conducted a study to determine the
                     effectiveness of psychotherapy on cancer patients3.
                       One hundred women with terminal breast cancer were
divided into four groups. Fifty women
                     elected to have chemotherapy and fifty rejected it.
Half of each group (25) also received behavior
                     therapy, and half did not.
                       Survival rates for those who received no type of
therapy, neither chemotherapy or
                     psychotherapy, was 11 months.
                       Those who received only chemotherapy survived for 14
months. Therefore, the chemotherapy
                     by itself added three months to their lives.
                       Those who received only psychotherapy survived for
15 months - a month longer survival time
                     than chemotherapy alone, and four months longer than
those who had no therapy at all.
                       (In other words, if you were forced to choose
between chemotherapy or the behavior therapy,
                     you would have survived a month longer on the behavior
therapy alone with no unpleasant side
                     effects.)
                       However, for those who received both the
chemotherapy and the psychotherapy, the survival
                     time was 22 months - twice as long as no therapy at
all, eight months longer than chemotherapy
                     alone, and seven months longer than behavior therapy
alone.
                       All of these cancer patients were in an advanced
terminal stage at the start of the study. These
                     findings were consistent with the later findings of
the Stanford/UC Berkeley study, where the
                     women were also in an advanced stage of their disease.
                       In 1989, the National Institute on Aging published a
report that showed "conclusively" that
                     depression does not play a role in causing cancer4.
                       Here was a ten year federal study undermining the
belief that the mind can play a role in the
                     development of a cancer by finding that people who had
experienced depression are no more likely
                     than others to develop a cancer. Though the study also
was flawed and not a randomized controlled
                     study, and only looked at whether or not people
diagnosed as having clinical depression might
                     eventually develop cancer, it concluded that clinical
depression did not play a role in predisposing
                     one to develop a cancer.
                       We couldn't agree more.
                       Clinical depression does not play a role in the
development of a cancer.
                       However, the six psychological factors we discovered
do create an unknown psychological
                     condition that we found in over eighty percent (80%)
of the cancer patients investigated, and that
                     this psychological state does predispose one to
develop a cancer.
                       We found that the reason there is so much confusion
in the literature regarding the role of
                     depression in cancer is because of the way the word
depression is used. Depression is a specific
                     mental condition that is carefully defined in the DSM
III-R manual of psychiatry. It was this
                     classical form of clinical depression that the
investigators in the National Institute of Aging study
                     were looking for as a possible cause of cancer, and
were using two standard psychological tests to
                     determine whether or not the patient being interviewed
had this form of depression.
                       Our investigation showed that this classical form of
depression does not play a role in
                     predisposing an individual to develop a cancer, nor
was this form of depression found to exist in
                     any significant number of the cancer patients we
interviewed.
                       Our investigation also showed that none of the
atypical variance of the current psychiatric
                     definition of atypical depression were present in
cancer patients ... which is why the standard
                     psychiatric techniques for treating classic or
atypical depression are of little or no value in altering
                     the outcome of a cancer patient's disease.
                       In other words, if the standard psychiatric
definitions of depression do not play a role in causing
                     a cancer, then the treatment for those standard forms
of depression would play no effective role in
                     treating the cancer.
                       Once we realize the DSM III-R definitions of
depression do not apply to cancer, the real question
                     then becomes, "Is there some other state of mind or
set of attitudes besides clinical depression that
                     could play a role in either causing cancer or in
treating it?"
                       Our study, and the Stanford-UC Berkeley study,
showed unequivocally that there is.
                       We discovered through the use of our new interview
technique that there does exist a state of
                     mind composed of a specific set of mental and
emotional attitudes that are clearly present in the
                     cancer patient but are not classical or atypical
depression.
                       Because all of the studies in the literature
concerning the role depression might play in cancer are
                     based on these classical definitions of depression and
atypical depression, they do not apply to this
                     specific and unique form of unconscious or subliminal
depression that we discovered to exist in
                     eighty percent (80%) of the cancer patients.
                       Which created for us a major problem.
                       On the one hand we knew that neither classical or
atypical depression played any meaningful role
                     in creating a cancer or in treating it.
                       On the other hand, if we called this unique and very
specific psychological state an unconscious
                     depression, or a subliminal depression, we ran the
risk of having people mistakenly assume we're
                     talking about the same kind of depression that has
proven not to be significantly involved in
                     cancer.
                       Unfortunately we were not clever enough to invent a
new word that would describe this
                     psychological state peculiar to the cancer patient
other than to describe it as an unconscious
                     depression, or a subliminal depression, or a
suffocating depression taking place for the most part
                     in the unconscious of the cancer patient.
                       We are well aware that in identifying these six
psychological factors that make up this unique
                     state of mind and emotional attitude that can lead to
a cancer, we have done nothing more than
                     taken the first step in identifying what constitutes
the "cancer personality," or the psychology of the
                     cancer patient.
                       Using this model of the cancer personality as a
starting point, we are well aware that much more
                     will be discovered and added to our understanding of
the psychological causes of this disease, by
                     others as well as, hopefully, ourselves.
                       If along the way someone comes up with a better name
for this unique psychological state, we
                     would be grateful. In the meantime we will have to
content ourselves with describing this
                     personality existing in the unconscious of the cancer
patient with the interchangeable terms
                     unconscious depression, subliminal depression, or
suffocating depression.

                                                     A SUMMARY
                                           OF WHY THIS NEW DEPRESSION
                                    IS DIFFERENT FROM CLASSICAL DEPRESSION

                     In order to make absolutely certain that no one
confuses this newly discovered unconscious
                     depression with traditional depression, I will risk
being redundant and summarize the distinctions
                     between the two, and why all of the previous studies
done on depression are not applicable to this
                     unique form of subliminal depression.
                       The reasons the standard diagnostic techniques would
not be able to identify the presence of this
                     depression are as follows:

                         1.Because this depression is unlike any form of
depression found anywhere in psychiatry
                            today. It goes beyond being another atypical
depression, for it is a depression not found in
                            the DSM III-R, or anywhere in the psychiatric
literature.
                         2.Another reason this serious depression would not
ordinarily be recognized is that it is an
                            unconscious depression. This unique depression,
this new psychological component,
                            exists in the unconscious personality of the
patient, not the conscious personality. It is
                            taking place either in whole or in part in the
unconscious personality of the cancer patient,
                            which is not visible, and not generally
available for diagnosis and treatment. The word
                            "unconscious" means unknown, and in the case of
this unique depression, it remains
                            unknown because both the doctor and the patient
are unaware, either in whole or in part,
                            that it exists.
                         3.This unique psychological condition, this
specific form of unconscious depression, can
                            exist only when all six of these specific
factors are present. If only three or four of these
                            factors, or characteristics, are present, they
may present a behavioral problem, but they
                            will not create this kind of debilitating
depression that can lead to a cancer.
                         4.Because these six specific factors have never
before been identified, it has not been
                            possible for anyone, even a trained
psychiatrist, to know that such a depression existed.
                            Unable to find a better word for this new
psychological component, we simply refer to it
                            as an unconscious depression. We define this
unique form of depression as a specific set
                            of ideas, attitudes, feelings and emotions
existing for the most part in the unconscious
                            personality of the cancer patient, all of which
are created by six well defined psychological
                            conditions occurring in the cancer patient's
life, past and present.

                     Unless one knew these six psychological factors
existed, either as a doctor, a patient, or a loved
                     one, how could one possibly recognize them? Unless one
knew of the identity of each one, such as
                     the factor of being a subliminal ego, the factor of
being suffocated, or the factor of being utterly
                     dependent, one wouldn't even think of looking for them
in the cancer patient.
                       However, now that you know what to look for, you
will be astonished at how often you see
                     these factors present in the cancer patient, and how
easy it is to recognize them.
                       Which is why we believe our discovery is good news.

                               NOW THAT THIS UNCONSCIOUS DEPRESSION CAN BE
                                     RECOGNIZED, IT IS POSSIBLE TO TREAT IT

                     The main reason that this debilitating, unconscious
depression becomes dangerous and
                     life-threatening to an individual, is because it is
unknown and unrecognized, and therefore can
                     operate in secret over a long period of time to cause
far reaching biochemical changes in the body
                     that can lead to a cancer. (See Chapter 13 for how
these biochemical changes come about.)
                       However, now that these six factors have finally
been identified, it is relatively easy for anyone,
                     from trained professionals to the cancer patients
themselves, to learn to recognize all six of these
                     factors, and because they are now able to be
recognized, it is now possible to treat them both in the
                     cancer patient as well as in those individuals whose
psychological state puts them at a high risk for
                     cancer.
                       If this unique depression can be brought out into
the open and identified, and if the patient can be
                     made conscious of the conflict and suffering that
these six factors are creating in his or her life so
                     that each of the factors can be openly recognized and
treated, this depression can be successfully
                     treated.
                       If the depression can be cured, or even greatly
relieved, the chances of intervening successfully
                     in the physical disease will also be greatly improved.
                       Until a cancer patient is made aware of these six
factors, he has no more idea that this
                     unconscious depression exists, or what causes it, than
he does that an undiagnosed tumor exists.
                       Just as the tumor has been silently growing
unrecognized for a long period of time, so too this
                     unconscious depression has been silently growing
unrecognized for a long period of time.
                       Because the patient is no more aware of the
existence of this kind of depression than he is of an
                     undiagnosed tumor, neither he nor his loved ones are
in any way responsible for the depression
                     any more than they are responsible for the tumor. (How
could I be responsible for suffocating my
                     wife and family when I didn't even know that I was a
controlling suffocator, or that such a thing as
                     suffocation even existed?)
                       Neither the cancer patient nor the loved one have
any more idea what's happening deep within
                     the body than they do of what's happening deep within
the unconscio