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The Type C Connection:
The Mind-Body Links to Cancer and Your Health
- By Lydia Temoshok, Ph.D. and Henry Dreher. Random House, 1992. Paperback: Plume, 1993.
- First serial rights obtained by Self magazine.
- Publicity: The Today Show
This ground-breaking book demonstrates dramatically--for the first time--that emotional factors can help determine our vulnerability or resistance to cancer. For over a decade, internationally acclaimed psychologist Dr. Lydia Temoshok has been conducting research at the forefront of mind-body science. Now, with science writer Henry Dreher, she presents her landmark conclusion that a specific behavior pattern--which she calls "Type C"--may influence cancer risk and recovery. Drawing on hundreds of patient interviews and case histories, the authors vividly describe the Type C individual: unfailingly pleasant, appeasing, and--most important--unable to express emotions, especially anger. We all know someone who fits this pattern; perhaps we recognize it in ourselves. Dr. Temoshok suggests that this coping style can sometimes serve us well, but if we chronically repress needs and feelings, we may eventually suffer psychological and physical ill effects. Our immune defenses may be weakened, leaving us more vulnerable to disease. Dr. Temoshok's discoveries offer hope because they emphasize that we all have potentially powerful allies against cancer: our own hearts and minds. In two separate programs, one targeted for cancer patients and the other for people who wish to prevent cancer, the authors offer practical and compassionate advice on how to transform the Type C pattern. While no one is to blame for Type C behavior or for any health consequences, all of us can learn to recognize and express the entire range of our emotions, and become more empowered in our relationships. The result is both a richer and a healthier life.
Review from Publisher's Weekly
"People who maintain a facade of pleasantness, never express anger and who strive excessively to please authority figures are more vulnerable to cancer, according to clinical psychologist Temoshok and science writer Dreher ( Your Defense Against Cancer ). This behavior pattern, which they dub ``Type C,'' is typified by self-sacrificing, unassertive people who focus their attention on others and away from themselves. Based in part on Temoshok's studies of melanoma patients, the Type C personality profile in many ways resembles the behavioral patterns that Bernie Siegel, Lawrence LeShan and other writers impute to allegedly cancer-prone individuals. This popularly written book sets forth suggestions aimed at helping people change their behavior to assist cancer prevention and recovery. Despite its in-depth review of the mind-body connection, the study will not resolve the medical controversy over whether, and to what extent, emotions can affect cancer's onset or one's chances for recovery."
Review from American Health
"Possibly the boldest theory in mind-body research."
Dean Ornish, M.D., President & Director, Preventive Medicine Research Institute, author of Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease
"Ground-breaking…offers hope for those with cancer or those who wish to help prevent it."
Michael Lerner, Ph.D., president Commonweal, Author of Choices in Healing
"A superb overview of the research and clinical experience that led Lydia Temoshok to her important conclusions about the relationship between the Type C behavior pattern and the incidence and progression of cancer. Temoshok has done some of the most significant research in this field, and Henry Dreher is a first-rate writer. Together, they have produced a book that meets the highest criteria for responsible discussion of an issue of critical concern for cancer patients, family members, and health professionals alike. I cannot recommend it too highly."
Alice Miller, M.D., author of Drama of the Gifted Child
"The authors’ highly significant examples make clear to many what has until recently only been known by few. Cancer may be the ultimate, the only language available to banished emotions and needs. Once these unwanted and feared but still real emotions and needs can be felt, expressed, and taken seriously…even full recovery is possible. Urgent information for professionals and laymen."
Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., Director, Stress Reduction Clinic, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, author of Full Catastrophe Living
"An invaluable contribution towards helping people understand the mind-body connection, its relationship to cancer patients in particular, and to health and illness generally…The book is highly responsible and informative scientifically and at the same time full of soul…Destined to become a classic!"
Bernie Siegel, M.D., author of Love, Medicine, and Miracles
"Lucidly updates and clarifies the much misunderstood mind-body field. An important resource for dealing with cancer or any other illness."
James W. Pennebaker, Ph.D., professor of psychology, University of Texas at Austin
"First-rate…compassionate, thought-provoking, and scientifically valid."
Steven Greer, M.D., director, Cancer Research Campaign, Psychological Medicine Group, Royal Marsden Hospital, London
"Here at last is a book written in plain English which discusses the links between psychological factors and cancer. The authors’ humanity and concern for people who develop cancer shines like a beacon of light in this book."
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