Is optimism overrated?

A small Australian study of lung cancer patients found no evidence that a positive attitude made a difference in survival. The study was published online today in the journal Cancer. Read the abstract.

Encouraging cancer patients to be optimistic may only add to their burden, the authors concluded.

But survival isn't everything. The American Cancer Society points out in an Associated Press story that optimism can make a difference in other areas not measured as end points by the researchers.