LP>-> LP>Anyhow, let's say that she does spend more effort praying than
  >-> tending to worldly medical needs.  This is a good or a poor idea
  >-> depending on one's notions of the afterlife.
LP>-> SB> Well, it also depends on how much you believe prayer influences
  >-> things in *this* life.
LP>Oh, very good observation!  Though, without sarcasm, I'd prefer nursing
  >care over my 'nurse' praying for me if I were forced to choose.  I do
  >pray for myself and for others, as you know.
Although my oncologist was/is a firm believer in the power of prayer (as
was/is my surgeon), both were very competent physicians, and both are
instructors in their specialities at a medical school.  I would not have
considered having it any other way.
LP>-> On the other hand, prayer has been proven, in double blind
  >-> experiments to help in healing.  By double blind experiments, I mean
LP>Well, now you've piqued my interest and I'll have to look through
  >Medline for completed studies about praying for others.  There was a
  >post on the Skeptic echo outlining a proposed study like you've
  >described above.  There were no results as yet from that one.
It's possible, though I'm not sure of it, that some of these studies
were published in JAMA, if you wanted to look them up.  Although I'm not
a Christian Scientist, I expect that a Christian Scientist reading room
would be able to track down those studies, since that's the sort of
thing a Christian Scientist would delight in knowing.
LP>I'm pleased when people tell me I'm mentioned in their prayers.  When I
  >pray for someone, I tell them about it.  I know that praying is
  >psychologically beneficial but I don't know how it works.  I'm not
  >convinced of the existence or non-existence of 'god'.  There, now that
  >should offend everybody.  :)
According to my oncologist, the studies indicate that it also works when
the recipient doesn't know he or she is being prayed for, so it's
something more than just psychological.
As for your not knowing whether you believe in God or not, I am not at
all offended by that position.  I suspect many more people are in that
position than admit to it.  I do, however, believe in God. But, since
this is not a religion conference, I won't go into detail as to what I
believe about the creator, or what that means in my day to day life.
LP>I'll get back to you when I've done my literature search.  If the AMA
Great!
  >agrees that prayer is beneficial, that's a great step forward partly
  >because our doctors are in desperate need of humility about their
  >limitations. They're much too eager to take the credit when someone
  >does well.  (I know, I've seen them step forward to credit my
  >neurologist with my extended 'remission'.  I hardly ever see the woman,
  >and besides, I probably never had MS in the first place.)
One nice thing about both my surgeon and my oncologist: both believed
there was more to healing, or failure to heal, than just the medicine.
Almost immediately after my diagnosis of breast cancer, and before my
surgery, my surgeon told me, "No-one knows what causes one person to
survive and another to die.  I've seen folks with advanced stage four
cancer, and only weeks to live, go into remission and live another
twenty years.  I've seen folks with stage one cancer die from cancer six
months later.  It's true, most people with advanced stage four cancer
die in a short while, and most folks with stage one cancer are alive ten
years later.  But it's not an absolute either way.  Attitude definitely
plays a strong part in it, but that isn't everything either.  I just
don't have the answers about what causes any given person to live or
die."
                  Sondra
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 þ SLMR 2.1a þ But I WANT the two in the bush!
--- Opus-CBCS 1.7x via O_QWKer 1.7 
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