You're Not to Blame Dr. David Spiegel, a renowned psychiatrist and hypnotherapist, has been very critical of approaches that teach patients to fight their illnesses. Although he has shown in his own research that the mind can influence bodily responses, he correctly points out that some therapeutic approaches encouraging a fighting attitude can engender guilt in those patients who are not successful in curing their illnesses. He also points out that another guilt-inducing message is that you are responsible for your illness. It is very easy to assume that if you are responsible for your illness, then you caused it. In fact, most cancer patients are not responsible for their illness.
Psychological factors play little or no role in causing cancer.
For every study that reported discovering the existence of a cancer-type personality, there are more studies that contradict it. Some cancers, such as lung cancer, may be caused by carcinogens such as cigarette smoking. However, you still do not have to feel guilty even if your cancer can be linked to cigarette smoking or some other unhealthy behavior. Guilt is not a constructive emotion. The way to rid yourself of all guilt is first to question whether you are, in fact, responsible.