There's something, um, depressing about this:
Depression can damage a cancer patient's chances of survival, a review of research suggests.
The University of British Columbia team said the finding emphasised the need to screen cancer patients carefully for signs of psychological distress.
The study, a review of 26 separate studies including 9,417 patients, features in the journal Cancer.
It found death rates were up to 25% higher in patients showing symptoms of depression.
Cancer is already loaded with all kinds of baggage, as Susan Sontag noted. Sufferers are invariably described as "battling cancer", as though it's a personal struggle, with your courage and determination pitted against the evil invader. And it's always, at least for celebrity sufferers, a brave struggle. There's no room for the weak or frightened.
And now we have to be cheerful as well. We've just been told we've got cancer, and we have to be cheerful about it. Keep your spirits up! Be positive! Don't let it get you down!
Oh boy. Thanks for that, University of British Columbia researchers.
Mick Hartley 
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