When Donald arrived for his first group-therapy session he was in a wheelchair, suffering

from malignant melanoma and severely depressed. But after he spent six months sharing stories and good times with other cancer【51】and learning relaxation techniques, his mood had improves considerably and【52】had his condition.【53】his attitude brightened, an important change took【54】inside his body: an increase in the activity of his "natural killer cells," a crucial link in the immune【55】. By year's end, though he still had cancer, Donald was able to dance for his group.

【56】role, if any, does emotions play in【57】or curing illness？ The question is older【58】western medicine, but it has been given new importance by modern science's discovery of innovative【59】to measure the mind's impact【60】the body's health. Scientists are studying whether, and to what【61】, disease can be affected by the use of【62】mind-body techniques as meditation, yoga, group therapy, guided imagery (visualizing the desired effect)【63】relaxation. There is little question that we can alter the course of disease【64】manipulating psychological factors.【65】to make this knowledge useful to physicians, we need to understand the mechanisms. When researchers can pin【66】the appropriate clinical uses for mind-body therapies, the result will be a revolution in medical【67】.

For many patients, the【68】has already begun. Increasingly, people are using mind-body therapies on their own, even【69】seeking conventional medical treatment. Stories of seemingly miraculous recoveries may grab the public's attention but the real work is being【70】quietly and out of sight. In laboratories around the world, medical researchers are exploring the mind-body connection, separating myth from reality, intuition from fact, belief from science.

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