10 Most Common Traits Among Cancer Patients

"You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and the manner in which you live."

As a physician, I have witnessed the painful yet transformative journeys of many cancer patients, including my own mother who battled brain cancer. One striking reality I’ve observed is how cancer often appears in the most unexpected way, striking those who seemed perfectly healthy until just days at times even hours—before diagnosis. Many had little to no warning signs, and then suddenly, cancer arrived like a bolt from the blue.

Through years of observation, I’ve recognized certain common traits among cancer patients that may have played a significant role in the disease’s development. These patterns are not always obvious, but they emerge when we look closely at the mind–body connection.

Here are the 10 most common traits found in cancer patients—and how they may be prevented (in no particular order):

1. It’s not what you eat that causes cancer, but what eats you.

This phrase resonates deeply with the cancer journey. Many patients, when reflecting back, had normal blood work, clean scans, and no family history suggesting cancer risk. Cancer was never even on their radar. And yet, what often emerged was a deep emotional trigger—an unresolved pain, stress, or inner conflict—that quietly weakened their resilience. These hidden struggles often formed the silent backdrop against which cancer developed in the coming months or years. These triggers may seem trivial when you look back but your immune system took a toll. Common examples are loss of a loved one, deep financial failure and so on.

2. Most cancer-causing factors are preventable—but not measurable.

In medical schools, we are taught that genetic factors account for only about 10% of cancers. That means the vast majority—over 90% arises from factors that are preventable, yet difficult to measure. Modern medicine prefers measurable risk markers such as cholesterol, BMI, or genetic mutations. But this framework overlooks the subtler, invisible contributors to cancer—factors that cannot be easily quantified but are just as powerful. The rise of cancer among younger and seemingly healthier individuals highlights the undeniable truth: much of what causes cancer lies beyond the reach of current diagnostic tools, yet it holds immense importance for prevention.

3. Unconscious negative emotions.

When we think of negativity, we often imagine outwardly destructive figures like criminals, corrupt leaders, or the stereotypical “bad person.” Yet most cancer patients do not fit this image. On the surface, they appear to be normal, intelligent, hardworking individuals. The difference lies not in their appearance, but in their inner world. Many harbors unresolved emotions and poor coping mechanisms for life’s stresses.

Persistent emotions like anger, resentment, guilt, fear, self-pity, ego, or hatred quietly send harmful signals to the body’s defense systems. Over time, these unhealed emotions suppress immunity and even weaken protective genes such as tumor suppressor genes. When such emotional states persist for months or years, they can create the perfect environment for cancer to take root.

4. Untreated psychological illness or autoimmune illness treated often precedes cancer.

From my close observation of cancer patients—including my own mother, who was an “innocent” cancer patient—I’ve noticed a recurring pattern: many had a history of either significant psychological illness or autoimmune disease before their cancer diagnosis.

Untreated mental health conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, PTSD, or borderline personality disorder are still shrouded in stigma, even in today’s world. Having experienced depression myself, I know firsthand how neglecting treatment can weaken the immune system by sending abnormal signals to it over time.

Similarly, patients treated for autoimmune illnesses like rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), or inflammatory bowel disease often rely on heavy immunosuppressant medications. While these medicines manage symptoms, they also lower immunity, leaving the body more vulnerable to cancer in the future.

5. Ignoring the cancer-causing factors of the mind.

While medical science focuses heavily on physical risk factors, we often neglect the subtle but equally powerful “cancers of the mind.” As Jay Shetty and other teachers describe, there are seven common mental patterns that act like toxins: complainers, cancellers, casualties, critics, commanders, competitors, and controllers.

These patterns are not new; ancient wisdom texts such as the Bhagavad Gita and teachings like the Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama have long warned against them. In today’s age of iPhones, capitalism, and constant distraction, we rarely pause to examine and master our own minds. Yet this self-awareness is one of the most powerful tools—not just in preventing cancer, but also in avoiding many chronic illnesses that silently grow in modern life.

6. Misconceptions about cancer treatment.

Many cancer survivors assume that surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation cures them of cancer. In reality, these treatments are designed primarily to remove tumors or slow their growth. What remains largely unsolved in modern medicine is the prevention of metastasis or methods to detect spread of cancer cells to other parts of the body. Metastasis is often the most critical factor influencing poor outcomes in common cancers such as breast, lung, or colon cancer.

This gap in understanding reinforces the importance of non-physical contributors—such as unconscious negative emotions and the “7 Cs of the mind” described earlier—which may play a far greater role in both cancer progression and recovery than we currently acknowledge.

7. The obesity wave.

Obesity has long been linked with numerous illnesses including diabetes, sleep apnea, hypertension, cancer, heart disease, and even addictions. But association is not the same as causation. Poverty, for example, is often associated with illiteracy—they frequently coexist, but one does not necessarily cause the other.

In the same way, obesity commonly coexists with cancer, yet whether obesity directly causes cancer remains debatable. What is undeniable, however, is that obesity has become a widespread epidemic in the Western world—and cancer has followed a strikingly parallel rise within the same populations and age groups. The correlation is too strong to ignore, even if the exact mechanism of causation is still under investigation.

8. The healing power of faith.

Faith is timeless, it has existed across cultures and ages, regardless of how modern or advanced society becomes. Whether one believes in God, a higher power, or simply a greater force of life, faith itself exerts a profound influence on the mind and body. It can bring inner strength, peace, and resilience that often surpasses what medicine alone can provide.

In fact, faith can sometimes be more powerful than trust in treatments, hospitals, or insurance. This is why alternative therapies such as Reiki, yoga, meditation, naturopathy, Ayurveda, and homeopathy continue to thrive. Though the funding for such approaches is negligible compared to the billions invested in modern medical research, they endure because faith and belief themselves act as powerful healing agents.

9. Accepting that cancer is deeply connected to the mind.

For families and caregivers of cancer patients, despair and confusion are common. Many spend years searching for external causes of the illness in their loved ones, while overlooking the inner dimension of the disease. It is like frantically searching for your missing glasses all around the house, only to realize they were sitting quietly on your forehead the whole time. Sometimes, all it takes is a mirror shift in perspective—to see clearly.

With acceptance comes grace, and with grace comes the opening of new solutions. Ancient yogis like Swami Dayananda Saraswati to modern gurus like Sadhguru have long emphasized that most modern ailments arise from deep-rooted subconscious tensions. In this sense, cancer is psychosomatic in nature—born not just of the body, but of the mind. This may explain why, despite decades of research, modern medicine has yet to discover a definitive cure or preventive vaccine for cancer.

10. Prevention is better than cure: A Mirage in modern medicine

As a physician trained and practicing Internal Medicine for over a decade, I have immense respect for my colleagues in medicine. But let’s be honest, an ideal world without illness, hospitals, insurance companies, and pharmaceutical industries would struggle to survive. The reality is that the current medical system thrives on disease, not health.

Take breast cancer, for example—the leading cause of cancer deaths in women today. If I were to build a hospital dedicated solely to breast cancer patients, it could become a lifelong revenue stream. I could create entire departments: breast cancer surgery, oncology, radiation therapy, chemotherapy infusion, plastic reconstruction, counseling services, even patient transport and hair-care centers for life after chemo. Each unit would generate income, ensuring steady profits for the institution and its staff.

But notice what happens here, the focus quietly shifts away from prevention and root causes to sustain income and grow business revenues. Cancer, in this model, becomes less a disease to be eliminated and more an industry to be maintained. Unless we redefine what, true health and wellness mean, the number of cancer patients is likely to keep rising.

This is exactly why I founded Wellness with Sahila because you deserve better. You deserve to understand your body and mind at a deeper level. Prevention begins with awareness, and healing begins with connection. Through yoga and meditation, you can reclaim your health, reduce your risks, and live the long, peaceful and fulfilling life you were meant to enjoy.

to understand more about cancer and how to protect yourself from cancer read my book The Why Behind Cancer. Click here to purchase the book from Amazon: