The Upside of Cancer (1/2)
A common health problem can provide a more positive outlook on life

Though cancer can be a harrowing ordeal, a growing body of research suggests that the disease can also change people's lives for the better. Nearly two out of three cancer survivors and their families say something good has come out of the experience, according to a new poll from USA TODAY/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health. The telephone survey included adults who had had cancer in the past five years or who have shared a household with a cancer patient who is still living.

Gaining confidence
Cancer gives some survivors a renewed sense of confidence and greater appreciation for their own endurance, says Patricia Ganz, a professor at the University of California. Cancer also often leads survivors to question their priorities, Ganz says.
Steve Gorski of Milwaukee, who was diagnosed with a rare and usually fatal kidney tumor two years ago, says cancer was the best thing that ever happened to him---even though it caused tremendous hardship. Gorski, 41, says cancer prompted one especially wonderful change: He is now a full-time caregiver for his sons. "There are life lessons for me to teach them every day." Gorski says.

How to cope
Many survivors find that the coping strategies they develop during cancer therapy help them handle other problems in life, Ganz says. That could expla why older cancer patients often feel less distraught than younger people, she says. Older people may have already leaned how to weather other types of crises, such as the loss of loved ones. But younger people had planned on many more decades of good health, says Diane Blum, executive director of CancerCare, which provides support to cancer patients and families.

Vocabulary Focus
tremendous (adj)---- great in amunt, size or degree

distraught (adj)--- extremely worried, anxious or upset

weather (v)--- to deal successfully with a difficult situation