Hope is a complex concept and one that is often misunderstood by many people including health care professionals. Many people tend to interchange the terms of wishing, optimism, and hope, but the three have significant differences.

Wishing is usually specific in that you wish for something you desire. It is positive in nature. Optimism emphasizes the positive aspects of a situation and is considered to be a positive trait. Both of these have places in our lives but to live with a disease like cancer and to get through treatments, navigate health care systems, and to overcome society's negative views about cancer as a death sentence, a person must have a strong sense of hope.

In stumbling upon an article published by the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship written by Elizabeth J. Clark, PhD entitled "You Have The Right To Be Hopeful", I realized that without this inner strength, this determined will power, this drive, that hope creates, there would be a lot less survivors in this disease. It is a good read and I am passing along the link to the free PDF file for others to enjoy and learn from.

1. Hope constitutes an essential experience in the human condition.
2. Hope means desirability of personal survival and the ability of the individual to exert a degree of influence on the surrounding world.
3. Hope is necessary for healthy coping.
4. Hope is a cognitive affective resource that is a psychological asset.
5. Hope is a mental willpower and is a sense of mental energy that helps move a person toward a goal.