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The Body Electric
Stephanie Matthews-Simonton, a psychologist, began using all these
methods, with emphasis on having patients develop a clear picture of the
cancer and their body's response to it. For example, a patient might
spend a meditative period each day imagining white blood cells as
knights on white horses defeating an army of black-caped marauders.
When the Simontons tabulated their first results in "terminal" cases,
they found that, of 159 people expected to die in less than a year, those
who eventually did succumb lived twice as long. The cancer had com-
pletely regressed in 22 percent and was receding in an additional 19
percent. These results have held up, and visualization is now being
adopted in some other cancer-treatment programs.
Penn State psychologist Howard Hall, testing hypnosis for boosting
white blood cell activity, found a 40 percent increase in cell counts
among his younger, more responsive subjects just one week after the
trance session. New Haven surgeon Bernie Siegel has developed the Si-
montons' methods further with therapy groups called Exceptional Cancer
Patients. Having patients make drawings to reveal their true psychologi-
cal state sans defenses, then working toward a comprehensive change in
outlook (total CNS response) to mobilize the will to live, Siegel has