Editorial August 5, 1939 Issue

Omitting Names of Diseases

George Shaw Cook

Recently a highly respected newspaper announced its intention of omitting from its obituary notices the names of diseases. In announcing editorially this change of policy, the newspaper gave as one of its reasons for this step the following explanation: "Perhaps it will readily occur to most discriminating persons why we have seen fit to impose this censorship on our columns. Every physician knows that the mental attitude of the patient has a great deal to do with his or her recovery, and it cannot be otherwise than disturbing to one undergoing treatment for a given disease to pick up the paper and read of deaths due to that same cause." Such indications of progressive and enlightened journalism are encouraging, and will be welcomed by Christian Scientists.

Many years ago Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, wrote (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, pp. 196, 197): "The press unwittingly sends forth many sorrows and diseases among the human family. It does this by giving names to diseases and by printing long descriptions which mirror images of disease distinctly in thought." May we not hope that sometime newspapers in general will not only omit the names of diseases from their obituary notices, but will also exclude names and descriptions of disease from their news columns.

Someone may be likely, upon seeing or hearing the name of a disease, to wonder if he is not experiencing the symptoms of that particular disease. And if his thought is not quickly freed from the false mental picture, he may soon find himself, in belief, manifesting it physically. Mrs. Eddy says (ibid., p. 453), "You should treat sickness mentally just as you would sin, except that you must not tell the patient that he is sick nor give names to diseases, for such a course increases fear, the foundation of disease, and impresses more deeply the wrong mind-picture."

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