ILLNESS, THE MIND, AND THE BODY - CANCER AND IMMUNOLOGY - AN INTRODUCTION

From the sixties on it has become clear how the human physical conditi on could be influenced by human behavior. Although hypothesis were lac king to understand these connections, nursing research especially prov ed how systematically introduced patient behavior during illness and h ospitalization could induce better recovery results and better prognos is for the patient. Information and attitude proved to be crucial elem ents in these processes of improved patient expectations. It took less than two decades to get to the insights we have in 1994. Recent resea rch shows the interlocking mechanisms of nervous and endocrine systems with the immune system as significantly being influenced by behavior and especially psychic and or psychosocial stress. This special issue of Theoretical Medicine briefly describes the historical development w ith contributions on the most recent state of the scientific art. Thes e developments are emphasized by discussion on the clinical reality of the (breast) cancer patient and recent findings on the complexity of the prevalence of cancer in epidemiology. An attempt is made to consid er practical consequences of the actual knowledge if applied to patien t care.