William Aiken

Some years ago, the late Dr. William Fair, world-renowned urologist from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, addressed the annual meeting of the Jamaica Urological Society at the then Crowne Plaza Hotel, on alternative treatments for cancer.

Dr. Fair, himself a victim of cancer, spoke very eloquently on the available evidence with respect to the impact that diet, herbal preparations, vitamins, and the quality of our close relationships had on the outcome of patients suffering from cancer. He postulated that given optimal conditions where these various parameters were concerned, the growth of a tumour may be slowed to the point where a patient with cancer may die of another cause rather than the tumour itself.

Loving rabbits

One particular laboratory experiment stood out; one which I have never forgotten, not because of its primary purpose or outcome measure, but because a serendipitous discovery was made. In essence, this experiment involved rabbits which were inoculated with cells from a prostate cancer cell line and then were randomly assigned to receive either a special diet or a regular diet along with standard treatment.

The rabbits were apparently stacked in cages in a tiered fashion and over time it was noted that the rabbits in the lowest tier thrived and gained weight more readily than those in the higher tiers. It didn't seem to matter to which arm of the experiment they belonged, although those exposed to the special diet did a little better than those on the regular diet.

The researchers could not understand why these rabbits in the lowest tier did so well until careful observation revealed that the laboratory assistant who fed and cared for the rabbits would not just simply feed those on the lowest tier, but would take them out of their cages and pet, stroke and caress them for significant periods, whereas those in the upper tiers were just simply fed in their cages!

This demonstrated to me in a very powerful way, the impact and importance of relationship in general and loving touch in particular on health.

Married men as a group, when compared to single men, live on average a couple years longer. Furthermore, studies have demonstrated that men who have more frequent sexual intercourse are less likely to die from heart attacks and stroke. There is an exponentially increasing body of evidence which speaks to the importance and impact that the nature and quality of our close, interpersonal relationships have on our health.

Furthermore, the mechanisms by which our close relationships affect our long-term health are being unravelled. For example, immune cells which normally protect us from foreign invaders such as germs and cancer cells have been found to attack the inner lining of our blood vessels when we get angry and upset. This lays the foundation for narrowing of the blood vessels, predisposing to heart attacks and strokes over time.

Quality of close relationships

Perhaps, outside of the genetic 'hand we're played' and diet and lifestyle factors, the nature and quality of our close, interpersonal relationships have the greatest impact on our long-term health.

Anecdotally, I'm convinced of this, as on occasions I've seen relatively-young persons with no family history of cancer, diagnosed with life-threatening cancers, and when you delve into their social and family history, you discover a pattern of sadness from relationships gone awry.

On this background, it behoves all of us to play our part in cultivating loving and nurturing relationships this Christmas with those close to us, and to avoid, where possible, toxic and demeaning relationships which cause us continued stress and anxiety. Perhaps too, this would be a good time to renew a broken but valued relationship with 'the one' who gives Christmas its true meaning.

Dr. William Aiken is the head of Urology at the University Hospital of the West Indies and president of the Jamaica Urological Society; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.