decorahnews.com feature: Is forgiveness the key to good health?

Hatred can be hazardous to your health.

That's the opinion of Reverend Dr. Michael Barry, the Director Emeritus of Pastoral Care at Cancer Treatment Centers of America's Philadelphia clinic.  He and another CTCA staffer, Reverend Dr. Drew Angus, the Director of Spiritual Outreach at the Philadelphia clinic, are visiting Luther College this week to meet with students and discuss the issue of forgiveness, which has been a popular research topic for more than the last decade.

Rev. Barry says a cancer hospital is an interesting place to study the topic of forgiveness because 65 percent of cancer patients have forgiveness issues--either with loved ones and family members, or with themselves because their behaviors might have led to the cancer.  Rev. Barry says 100 percent of cancer patients who consult with counselors at CTCA have issues involving forgiveness.

Rev. Barry says it's a time when people are trying to make peace with themselves, with God and with others.  It's also a time when they learn about "the high cost of hatred," as Barry puts it.  That's because having issues with forgiveness creates additional stress hormones which have a direct impact on a body's immune system.  So he tries to get patients to change their "emotional baseline," to get them motivated to make changes in their habits.

Reverend Angus, who started his work at the cancer center one month ago after working in both nursing and in churches, agrees that it's important to look at both the mind and the body in treatment.  He says his work--and that of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America--is to create the optimum conditions for healing for the patients, which is why issues like unforgiveness are important in treatment.