I think so. I resist denial so much it's almost an obsession. A friend of mine literally denied his cancer, and continued to do so until a day or so before he died. His wife had to withdraw from his presence to cry and couldn't talk to him because of his obdurate attitude. Now, four years later, she continues to grieve because she was never permitted to say good-bye to him.
Denial denies heeling.
We can't remove these events from the scene, but what we can do is to affirm the darkness and make of the whole experience something worthwhile for ourselves and others. We continue top learn more about affirming the darkness, and a s we do, it gives us feelings of soaring in flight. So although we are unable to hold off the ravages of cancer, we insist on living a balanced life. Total positiveness and total negativity are both unrealistic. It slows us down enough to be contemplative and to value life's most precious aspects, to know and to love each other more deeply and in ways probably known only to those who are vulnerable and threatened.