Table Of ContentGETTING
WELL
AGAIN
The bestseller about
the Simontons revolutionary
hfe-saving self-awareness
techniques.
ee OE Ee
O. Carl Simonton, M.D.
Stephanie Matthews-Simonton
James L. Creighton —
wee = = eG
O. Carl Simonton, M.D., D.A.B.R., is a radiation oncologist
and medical director of the Cancer Counseling and Research
Center in Dallas, Texas.
Stephanie Matthews-Simonton is a psychotherapist and
director of the Center’s intensive psychotherapy program.
James L. Creighton has worked with the Simontons and
independently in cancer patient counseling and care.
THE TOTAL APPROACH THAT’S
REVOLUTIONIZING CANCER TREATMENT
The Simontons are recognized worldwide as leaders in the
holistic health movement. Their total approach to fighting
cancer combines traditional medical management with psycho-
logical treatment—to create the most favorable environment,
both internal and external, for recovery. And the results have
been remarkable: the Simontons’ patients have a survival rate
twice the national norm and, in many cases, have experienced
dramatic remissions or total cures.
Carl and Stephanie Simonton have worked with major hospitals
and medical schools across the United States, helping them to
establish cancer counseling programs like their own in Texas.
Today they are considered the foremost practitioners in the
field of psychological causes and treatment of cancer.
**A HUSBAND AND WIFE MEDICAL TEAM IS HELPING
CANCER PATIENTS DIAGNOSED AS INCURABLY ILL
THINK THEIR WAY TO SURVIVAL.”’
—Associated Press
GETTING WELL AGAIN
*‘Compared to U.S. national averages, the Simontons’
‘terminally ill’ patients have lived longer—in some cases
experiencing dramatic remissions—and functioned more fully
than typical cancer patients . . . In the burgeoning field of
holistic health practice, [the Simontons] are bold and level-
headed pioneers.”’
—Association of Humanistic Psychology Newsletter
*““WE CAN ADD OUR OWN HEALING POWERS TO
NORMAL MEDICAL TREATMENT AND INCREASE OUR
CHANCES OF LONG-TERM, HIGH-QUALITY SURVIVAL
. . . Underlying all the Simontons’ work is the philosophy
that we are all responsible for our own health and illnesses,
and that we participate—whether consciously or uncon-
sciously—in creating our physical, emotional, and spiritual
health.”’
—New Age
*‘Carl and Stephanie Simonton are pioneering in the domain
of mind-body communication and are getting remarkable results
in cancer control.’’
—Dr. Elmer Green,
Menninger Foundation
“‘(The Simontons] have caught the very essence of the stress
concept, especially as it concerns the goal of overcoming
cancer.”’
—Hans Selye, M.D., President
International Institute of Stress
GETTING
WELLE
AGAIN
A Step-by-Step, Self-Help Guide
to Overcoming Cancer
for Patients and Their Families
O. Carl Simonton, M.D.
Stephanie Matthews-Simonton
James L. Creighton
a
BANTAM BOOKS
TORONTO * NEW YORK * LONDON * SYDNEY * AUCKLAND
This book is dedicated to the patients who have been
willing to try and alter the course of their cancers through
the mental and emotional processes and to the courage it
takes to adopt that stance.
—CARL and STEPHANIE SIMONTON
I dedicate this book to my wife, Maggie Creighton, who
first led me down these paths and supported me along the
way.
—JAMES CREIGHTON
GETTING WELL AGAIN
A BANTAM BOOK 0 553 17272 7
First publication in Great Britain
PRINTING HISTORY
Bantam edition published 1986
Bantam edition reprinted 1988
Bantam edition reprinted 1990
Bantam edition reprinted 1991
Bantam edition reprinted 1993
Fictional names have been used for all the patients
mentioned in this book except for Bob Gilley.
Copyright © 1978 by O. Carl Simonton and
Stephanie Matthews-Simonton
Bantam Books are published by Transworld Publishers
Ltd., 61-63. Uxbridge Road, Ealing, London W5 5SA, in
Australia by Transworld Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.,
15-25 Helles Avenue, Moorebank, NSW 2170, and in New
Zealand by Transworld Publishers (N.Z.) Ltd., 3 William
Pickering Drive, Albany, Auckland.
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Cox & Wyman Ltd., Reading, Berks.
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
PART ONE The Mind and Cancer
1 The Mind-Body Connection: A Psychological Approach
to Cancer Treatment 3
The Starting Point: The ‘‘Will to Live’ 4
The First Patient: A Dramatic Example 6
A Whole-Person Approach to Cancer Treatment 10
The Results of This Approach 11
Theory into Practice 13
2 The Mysteries of Healing: The Individual and His
Beliefs 15
The Importance of the Individual 16
A Mysterious Recovery 18
‘‘Spontaneous’’ Remission and the Placebo Effect 22
Psychosomatic Health 217
Biofeedback and the Ability to Influence Health 29
A System Concept of Health 31
3 The Search for the Causes of Cancer 33
What Is Cancer? 33
What Causes Cancer? 34
The Immune System: Our Natural Defense Against
Illness 40
4 The Link Between Stress and Illness 46
Measuring Stress and Predicting Illness 46
How Stress Increases Susceptibility to Illness 51
A Summary of the Findings: We Return Again to
the Individual 54
5 Personality, Stress, and Cancer 56
A Historical Look at the Connection Between Cancer
and Emotions 57
The Psychological Evidence 62
Examples from Our Patients’ Lives 67
The Psychological Process of Illness 72
Getting Well Again 76
6 Expectations about Cancer and Their Effects on
Recovery 79
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy 80
Negative Social Beliefs about Cancer—and Their Effects 83
Building a Positive System of Beliefs 85
7 A Whole-Person Model of Cancer Recovery 91
A Mind/Body Model of Cancer Development 91 —
Reversing the Cycle: A Mind/Body Model of Recovery 95
PART TWO Pathways to Health
8 The Program: Putting It To Work 103
An Overview of Pathways to Health 104
Putting the Program to Work 109
9 Participating in Your Health 114
John Browning: A Case History 116
Bob Gilley: A Case History 119
How You Interpret the Meaning of Events 120
Identifying Your Participation in Illness 121
Accepting the Responsibility for Your Health 124
10 The ‘‘Benefits’’ of Iliness 127
Solving Problems Through Illness 128
The Legitimacy of Emotional Needs 131
Identifying the ‘‘Benefits’’ of Illness“ 132
11 Learning to Relax and Visualize Recovery 136
The Relaxation Technique 138
Relaxation and Mental Imagery 140
The Mental Imagery Process 142
Mental Imagery for Other Illnesses 146
The Value of Relaxation and Mental Imagery 148
Overcoming Potential Problems with the Mental
Imagery Process 149
12 The Value of Positive Mental Images 151
The Criteria for Effective Imagery 154
Overcoming Problems in Your Mental Imagery 157
Drawings and Interpretations of our Patients’
Mental Imagery 160
Imagery as a Description of Self 173
13 Overcoming Resentment 175
Techniques for Forgiving old Hurts—Our Own
Experience 177
Mental Imagery for Overcoming Resentment 178
Our Patients’ Experiences with the Resentment Imagery
Process 179
Gaining Insight into Your Resentment 182
14 Creating the Future: Setting Goals 185
The Benefits of Setting Goals 180
Determining Your Goals: General Guidelines 188
Some Specific Suggestions for Goal Setting 190
Setting Your Goals and Developing Specific Action
Steps to Meet Them 192
Reinforcing Your Goals Through Mental Imagery 193
15 Finding Your Inner Guide to Health 197
Tapping Your Inner Resources: Examples from Our
Patients’ Lives 199
Journal Entries 204
Another Approach to the Inner Guide 206
The Inner Guide Mental Imagery Process 207
16 Managing Pain 210
The Emotional Components of Pain 211
The ‘‘Rewards’’ of Pain: Learning Not to Use Pain
as a Justification 212
Approaches to Managing Pain 213
Mental Imagery for Coping with Pain 215
Substituting Pleasure for Pain 218
17 Exercise 220
Our Exercise Prescription: One Hour, Three Times
Weekly 223
18 Coping with Fears of Recurrence and Death 228
Recurrence: The Body’s Feedback 229
Death: A Redecision 231
Our Patients’ Experiences 234
Gaining a Perspective on Life and Death 237
Implications of the Death-and-Rebirth Fantasy 240
19 The Family Support System 241
Accepting the Patient’s Feelings—and Your Own 242
Establishing Open, Effective, Supportive
Communication 243
Supporting the Patient's Responsibility and
Participation 250
Rewarding Health, No Illness 255
Meeting the Demands of Long-Term Illness 258
Learning and Growing 260
Bibliography 261
Index 281
