Positive thinking plays a crucial role in self-healing, says ex-breast cancer patient

Breast cancer survivor Tessa Guy is challenging care programmes that advise patients to rest rather than seek physical activity, in support of a Macmillan study that reached the same conclusions.

The study ‘Move More’ concluded that physical activity is particularly essential for helping patients to avoid negative thinking and the side effects of depression, both during and after cancer treatment.

Tessa Guy’s own experience led her to agree that a negative mindset has a knock-on effect, even impacting on physical well-being and the potential to self-heal. In order to combat these factors, she advises gentle exercises and guided visualisations, an approach that has also led to her launching ‘In Mind In Body’, which offers a range of MP3s to support the visualisation of physical activities.

On her own story, she comments: “Into my 4th chemotherapy treatment, with no hair, minus a breast, lacking a number of my toe and finger nails, a boil on my head, a septic hickman line in my chest and aching from limb to limb, I chose to believe I could create a brighter future, not only for myself but for others too. I decided to make it my goal to spread the word that using our minds and exercises are two powerful ways to fight cancer. Changing the way we think combined with some gentle physical activity can make all the difference.”

Such visualisation techniques are regularly used to boost sporting performance; recommended by the likes of former number one golfer Luke Donald MBE and Olympic medallist Steve Backley, but are largely overlooked within healthcare.

Neuroscientist and cognitive psychologist Dr Lynda Shaw is also among those to support the method, saying, “Visualising a better future and enjoying deep relaxation have a very powerful effect on the brain. There is a lot of scientific evidence that supports the effects that visual images have on the brain. For instance, when we imagine moving our little finger, the same brain regions are activated when we actually move our little finger. Visualisation helps us to relax and change our emotions. This in turn helps us cope with serious illness.”

Ms Guy continues: “We need to help our minds to help our bodies. ‘In Mind in Body’ aims to bring hope, support and positivity at an incredibly testing time for cancer sufferers physically and emotionally.

“The wonderful thing about the visualisations is they cover a multitude of subject areas from swimming to fishing. They are immediate and you feel the benefits of being relaxed straightaway. People going through treatment often hate to travel but the MP3s can be listened to in your own home when you need them and enable cancer sufferers to have a key and active role in their healing journey.”