THE ANTI-CANCER MARRIAGE

by Frederick B. Levenson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 1987

How marriage can promote a long, healthy life and prevent cancer. Others in the health field may concern themselves with known cancer-causers, such as toxic chemicals, smoking, and a high-fat diet. Levenson's concern (which he also addressed in The Causes and Prevention of Cancer) is with internal, self-produced carcinogens, which he believes result from unhappy stress-filled situations and put the body at risk for developing cancer. His answer to the cancer threat is a loving, sharing, caring, sexually satisfying marriage. This kind of union, he feels, is as important to the health and well-being of adults as parential bonding is to infants, and can prevent and even reverse cancer. Fusion, bonding, melding--these are words that occur frequently in his counseling as essential ingredients for a happy marriage and long life. He cites statistics that support his views. One is that Jewish women in Nassau County, New York (which he depicts as a hotbed of divorce, adultery, dissatisfied wives and arrogant, affluent Jewish husbands who hate them), have an alarmingly high rate of breast cancer. (Levenson's stereotypes and generalizations here are offensive.) Case histories throughout, some of which seem more like soap-opera fiction than real life, reveal intimate details of good and bad marriages, with the predictable results of either a healthy life or one that's cancer-prone. Levenson's sweeping conclusions aside, it's safe to say that a happy, close relationship is healthier than an unhappy one. Whether a strong marriage can prevent cancer is the question. Who knows? It may turn out to be a piece of the puzzle, along with a healthy diet.

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1987

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Stein & Day

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1987

Categories: NONFICTION