MAIL CALL: PRAYING FOR HEALTH

Our Nov. 17 cover story on faith and healing resonated with lots of readers. An oncologist wrote, "Many recoveries cannot be explained." An atheist credited not God but "the skill of my doctors." One reader asked, "Why would God heal only some?" Others offered their own versions of "spirituality."

Here's to Your Health We in traditional medicine need to acknowledge and embrace the healing power of spirituality in providing consolation and comfort during life's difficult journeys ("Faith and Healing," Nov. 17). As a professor of medical oncology and as a board-certified physician in hospice medicine and end-of-life issues, I have for more than 30 years seen patients with far-advanced illnesses, and I can clearly document, as can numerous physicians, that there are many whose recovery cannot be explained by traditional medical interventions. Several clinicians have seen the CT scans, the biopsy reports and the follow-up analyses that show the disease has simply disappeared or its rate of growth has slowed for reasons that we cannot explain. Most of my cancer patients acknowledge that spirituality and a belief in a "higher power" are the source of tremendous peace and comfort during troublesome times.
Edward T. Creagan, M.D., Professor
Mayo Clinic Medical School
Rochester, Minnesota

As a spiritual but nonreligious person, I don't understand how religion may interfere negatively with the current medical system, as some contend. A belief system may not cure disease, but there are benefits to including faith as part of the healing process. Since the true relationship between medicine and faith may never be understood, acknowledgment of a patient's beliefs may start to ensure a holistic approach to health care and a person's mental, spiritual and physical well-being.
Kristin Varacalli
School of Public Health, University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan

I'm 94, and I've been an avowed atheist since I was 16. I have survived three life-threatening surgeries not because of my prayers or others', but because of the skill of my doctors, the wonders of modern medical technology and my own sound state of mind. Many people never go to church not because of indifference but out of serious conviction. Is there any doubt that a survey of these decent people would show that they live as long as or longer than regular churchgoers?
Michael Golomb
West Lafayette, Indiana

Why omit the nursing profession from the healing equation? While physicians treat a patient's disease, nursing tends to treat the patient holistically. Many nurses address the whole being--the body/ mind/spirit of the patient--to promote wellness. The terms of spirituality and religiosity need clarifying. Religion is a belief and commitment to doctrines and practices. Spirituality gives meaning, values and purpose to life, and is a connection to the transcendent (however that is defined by the individual). Spirituality is experienced in the secular and the sacred. Spirituality can result in choosing a religion; religion can result in developing spiritually.
Lydia Manning, R.N.
Colorado Springs, Colorado

We are taught in medical school to take a multisystem approach to the patient. We are spiritual beings; to focus purely on the physical to the exclusion of the spiritual is myopic indeed. As an orthopedic surgeon in private practice, I have been offering to pray with my patients prior to surgery for the past nine years. While my patients appreciate a good surgical outcome, most of the positive feedback pertains to the prayer offered on their behalf. Rather than feeling an invasion of privacy and sensing an increased burden of remorse and guilt, the vast majority have welcomed the prayer offered in humility.
Jordan Stoll, M.D.
Boulder, Colorado